America's Funniest President: Mo Udall Presidency & Beyond

[CountDVB]

1989- The Protests of Tiananmen Square​

Background
Historians and scholars of the 21st century will often reflect on the last decade, a period of great change. Special interest fell on the so-called 'Second World', a term given for the "communist" aligned nations during the Cold War. Namely for how it seemed to more or less come apart by the time. The communist parties of the various nations found themselves falling apart from internal fighting or from the anger of the populations. While a few have taken this to discredit communism, many scholars noted that most of the tensions were particularly ethnic-based more than anything else. The Communist Party of Russia's failure to address these tensions along with Russian predominance over the others led to major changes as more and more nations tired of being Russian puppet states. Of course, internal fighting and an inability to change and adapt with the times was also a predominant reasons. And one examination of this clash of values and its after-effects came over in the Spring of 1989 in the People's Republic of China.

Ever since the end of the Cultural Revolution with the death of Mao and the arest of the "Gang of Four", the Chinese Communist government has moved away from its hardline stance and began embracing pragmatic reforms to help develop their nation, especially after the damage by the Cultural Revolution. These reforms have proven successful in restoring and incresing productivity as well as decrease poverty. Despite this, issues began rising from all this. From the accusastions of corruption and nepotism from within the party and the various companies, to trying to figure out the optimal way of stabilizing the economy without threatening the so-called "iron rice bowl" that a large percentage of the population relied on. With the job marketing becoming more limited, a growing number of intellectuals found themselves becoming more mired in political issues, especially over on universities. After all with a dismal job market and not many opportunities to be able to go abroad, they turned tot hat over in the hope for change. The education system was not able to produce highly skilled graduates to meet up with the demands. Even the socialist legitimacy of the party and nation was being questioned at the introduction of further capitalist practices.

Meanwhile, the pragmatic policies were driving a wedge over in the party, with two factions appearing. The reformers, led by the former Hu Yaobang, favored political liberalization and a plurality of ideas as a channel to voice popular discontent and pressed for further reforms. The hardliners meanwhile were led by Chen Yun said that the reforms had gone too far and advocated a return to greater state control to ensure social stability and to better align with the party's socialist ideology. However, the main mover and shaker was still Deng Xiaoping, who was considered the "paramount leader" of China. While he was a reformer, he was also quite pragmatic with his followers and allies. As such was his relation with Zhao Ziyang thought the two would have an improved relationship thanks to the US opening more with China and with the USSR also mending ties, the two would often travel more together, with the exchange of ideas giving further clues to try and implement. All while the party was struggling further with finding a solution and some of the hardliners becoming more and more intimidated by protestors, to where Hu Yaobang would be ousted due to his suppsoed mishandling the protests and leading to the undermining of social stability.

All in all, a clash seemed inevitable.

The Student Protests
The spark for what would lead to the protests would be the sudden death of Hu Yaobang. Given his sudden death after his forced resignation, it led to quite a strong reaction. The student protestors began gathering together in larger numbers, putting posters to eulogize Hu Yaobang and what would start as public mourning would begin to morph into a larger and larger group, becoming a protest as they would martyr Yaobang and champion his ideals. To where the group would go and draft the Seven Demands that they were wanting from the government.

1. Affirm Hu Yaobang's views on democracy and freedom as correct.
2. Admit that the campaigns against spiritual pollution and bourgeois liberalization had been wrong.
3. Publish information on the income of state leaders and their family members.
4. Allow privately run newspapers and stop press censorship.
5. Increase funding for education and raise intellectuals' pay.
6. End restrictions on demonstrations in Beijing.
7. Provide objective coverage of students in official media.

While a funeral would be held, it was deemed rushed by some of the students and few could stop the group of a hundred thousand strong body from trying to go and pay their respects over to Yaobang. As the days were going by, the protests were growing larger and more numerous, the young people demanding to be heard by their government and even beginning to come together and unionizing. The leadership was becoming alarmed as a result of the rise of these independent organizations. The protests however were starting to grow more violent and the people more upset. During this increase period of volatile feelings and the growing number of protests in the major cities of China, General Secretary Zhao would stress three major points: discourage students from further protests and ask them to go back to class, use all measures necessary to combat rioting, and open forms of dialogue with students at different levels of government. Meanwhile, Premier Li Peng called upon Zhao to condemn the protestors and recognize the need to take more serious action. Zhao dismissed Li's views.

Normally, there was planned visit to North Korea around the time, but it would be pushed back for differing reasons. One reason was over to the visitation of Mikhail Gorbachev, which would occur over right before the start of the protests. The men discussed various matters and patching the Sino-Soviet relationship. Zhao and Deng congratulated Gorbachev on his the success of his economic reforms and gathered information on how to perhaps finetune their own reforms, hoping that an optimal solution could be that would not only fix the economy, but do so to appear at least some of the hardliners. The other surprise that would come would be Gorbachev visiting once more as part of a different meeting, though this time it would not just be Gorbachev and some of his folk... but also that of newly elected American President Reubin Askew. It was both exciting and nervous for the Chinese as it wold led prestige to China becoming a greater power in having the two superpowers speak as if equals with them.

The US-Sino-Soviet Summit
The American government grew increasingly aware of the situation going on in China. Unsurprisingly, support laid for the student protestors though while some, including the Askew Administration had it out of genuine empathy and support for the students, others just enjoyed the Chinese government ending up in trouble. That said, concerns were still had over the visitation, but President Askew felt it was important to go anyway, especially with the growing unrest in the world and the likelihood that further involvement in foreign affairs will become increasingly common during his administration.

By the time he and Gorbachev arrived in China, the protests had continued. While the earlier concessions had yielded some results early on, the concern from some of the leaders over whether the government could be trusted to deliver any of their promises. As such, to try and ensure the momentum gathered, a hunger strike would be organized by the students. Early success was modest until Chai Ling made an emotional appeal on the night before the strike was scheduled to begin. Unsurprisingly, the hunger strikes were gathering the support of many and there was a concern at a potential loss of face over said protests happening and would begin fracturing further some of those on the part for it happening, with Zhao wanting to go for concessions and discussions and Li Peng wanting a more hardline stance involving the military.

However, Reubin Askew was unsurprisingly sympathic and he would do his best to maintain optimism and a positive view during the meeting, even assuring Zhao and Deng on the matter. President Askew noted how it reminded of the protests back in America decades prior over for such civil rights and how important they were for the well-being of all. He congratulated Zhao on his approach for reasoning along with giving his respect to Deng. Meanwhile, as the various members and agents talked, one concern that was brough up over to Zhao and Deng as well as Gorbachev was on the possibility that the hardliners may try and push for more radical action that would only lead to destabilization over in the long run.

Said warnings would become more prophetic than realized when Li Peng would attempt to try and circumvent Zhao to rally support for the hardliners. If not declare martial law and involve much of the military, increased crackdown and some force to be showed. However, with this coming just after Zhao tried to set up for further discussions. Said actions were not taken due to the concerns some of the military had and would even check up with Deng. Deng would reveal he did not support such an action and would grow rather upset that Li Peng would try and do such a thing, especially during such a situation right now ehre.

However, perhaps one of the more fascinating bits of the summit was an urban legend that would arise. Apparently, on the last hours of the final day, rumor had it that during a talk between Askew and his folk, he was asked on the protestors. While sympathetic, one comment in particular stood out. Namely, he noted that for the accusations that some of the party hardliners were giving toward the protestors on "bourgeois liberalism", that the party themselves would actually be closer to the real "bourgeois", on account of being the ones in charge. The urban legend stated that this would be overheard by a sympathizer within the government who would then spread it down to the protestors where it would grow and evolve, becoming the idea that the Community party was becoming corrupt. Given the growing accusations of cronyism, nepotism and the like, it was a sentiment that spread rapidly, along with the notion of the students being the "true" proletariat. This would further unite the varying factions of the movement, now unified as being "anti-corruption" and "pro-Communist", with the more radical elements detailing that the ruling party was communist in name only, filled with members who have lost touch with their ideals and become drunk on their own power.

Aftermath
While Li's actions were prevented, it permanantly dmaged relations with Deng, who kept in mind the words exchanged regarding trouble within his party. Additionally, after more than a week of the hunger strike, Zhao would go to the protestors and give a final speech over to them:

"Students, we came late. We are sorry. You talk about us, criticize us, it is all necessary. The reason that I came here is not to ask you to forgive us. All I want to say is that students are getting very weak. It is the 7th day since you went on a hunger strike. You can't continue like this. [...] You are still young, there are still many days yet to come, you must live healthily, and see the day when China accomplishes the Four Modernizations. You are not like us. We are already old. It doesn't matter to us anymore. You are the future and you will become its builders. "

Zhao's emotional speech was applauded by many of the students present there. Moreover though, this along with the news that would be overheard with what was going on in the Soviet Union and the rumors of Li Peng's actions regarding potential military movement, the hunger strike would cease, with the credit being attributed to Zhao's speech of compassion and concern, something of the students noted while others said that they would switch tactics, focusing on local politics though noting that they will not let up on this continued corruption and will keep coming. Despite this, the end of the strike and protests on the larger level would serve as a final point for Deng.

When the PSC met with military leaders and party elders, Deng noted on the crisis being averted and congraulted Zhao for doing everything needed and not escalating to violence. However, the same would not be said over to Li Peng, as his attempts of going behind Deng's back was not appreciated. Deng would make his stance clear in that he could not trust Li Peng and resolved to have him step down from his position over from premier along with targeting his supporters over the next upcoming months, giving a second wind over to the reformers with some of the hardliners now in growing concern.

Meanwhile, the protests going on in China against corruption, cronyism and so on would influence those even beyond its borders, including those over in their neighbor south of them in India...

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Information and phrasing coming from here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1989_Tiananmen_Square_protests

 

[CountDVB]

Summer 1989- Wave Beginnings


Voyager 2 picture of Neptune​

President Askew was finding his feet over regarding the presidency as well as what he was wanting to do with the nation. Beyond continuing with the long-term processes like electrifying the expanded American public rail system and the creation of new nuclear power station, much of the work had been relatively small for the most part, with one piece of legislation going through Congress just clarifying on abortion and birth control, namely to ensure actual legislation was in place on legalization and using the 27th Amendmet to support it. Askew did note that besides maintaining the prosperity, he would be aiming toward reform of the political system. One aspect he did was a pretty strong executive order to bar and restrict lobbying within the US government. President Askew noted that in his time as Vice President, he saw that there were than a few more broken systems or problems that needed to be addressed politically, especially with the election system and he hoped his administration can fix those problems. Other aspects was formulating executive orders to enable financial transparency over in Congress, having heard some concerns from activist groups and the newer Congressfolk over a conflict of interest over House Rep members, Senators and others holding stock in office along with that of term limits for Congressfolk and even Supreme Court Justice members. In the meanwhile, the Askew administration was also dealing with a bit of an economic downturn caused by some of the failures of savings and loans association. While the newer regulations helped mitigate the damage, especially regarding fraud, forbearance, the end of inflation and other issues still caused some trouble that the Askew administration had to deal with. Beyond some finetuning of regulations and investigations into fraud, another action done was another stimulus package to help the people affected by this along with the economic slowdown that could've happened.

Abroad though, the signs of a massive wave was coming. Poland would see their Soldarity party triumph over their communist party. For alot of people, they were seeing this as the beginning of an anti-communist revolution of sorts going on over in Central and Eastern Europe, with more and more nations that were held in the confines of the Warsaw Pact. In fact, with this, President Askew would be finding himself having to travel more over in Europe, such as Poland and Hungary to establish further Americnan relationships with the cracking of the Warsaw Pact. Poland itself would reestablish connections over with the Vatican after fifty or so years. [1] Over in the Baltics, Two million indigenous people of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania join hands to demand freedom and independence from Soviet occupation, forming an uninterrupted 600 km human chain called the Baltic Way. And in a more surprising one, a crowd over over 250,000 Hungarians gathered at Heroes Square in Budapest for the historic reburial of Imre Nagy. Nagy was a former Hungarian Prime Minister who had been executed in 1958. What made this more prominent was that Nagy was actually a devoted communist, just one who believed more in reform. He admitted non-communist politicians, dissolved the ÁVH secret police, promised democratic reforms, and mot of all, would withdrew Hungary from the Warsaw Pact. This would lead to the Soviets invading Hungary in the 1950s and eventually resulting in his death as a supposed traitor. [2] It served to provide that the anti-communist wave going on in Central and Eastern Europe could be better described as a response against forced Soviet hegemony rather than communism.

Beyond all of these developments in the national front, other innovations and phenomenon were going on. The world's first high-definition television (test) broadcasts commence in Japan over in analogue. A new television sitcom that would grab America's attention would be aired known as Seinfeld. Nintendo would change the industry once more with the release of the original Game Pal*, the name being a shoutout to Sony's "Walkman", with the latter making music on the go and so the Game Kid now puts games on the go. The satellite Voyager 2 would venture closer to the edge of the Solar System, getting a picture of Neptune and its largest moon Triton. The G7 summit served to check on the progress of further issues, including with the environment and climate change. And over on the borders of Austria and Hungary, the Pan-European Picnic would be held, a peace demonstration, done to try and see the USSR's response and promote greater unity for the various European powers. [1] Overall, it seemed that there was a growing wave of reforms desired and that peaceful protest was starting to get more attention.

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*= Yup, the OTL Game Boy is called Game Pal ITTL!

[1]- Information and phrasing from here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1989
[2]- Information and phrasing from here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imre_Nagy

 

[CountDVB]

1989- Protests of the Punjab​

Background
The Afghan-Pakistani War left a profound impact over in the Middle East, serving as a fatal blow to what some called the "Islamism" phenomenon. It referred to the supposed rise of nationstates having Islam as their form of not just cultural, but legal doctrine, creating quasi-theocracies. Scholars believed this was due to the rise of secular nationstates, albeit with many of them being Christian-based. However, the phenomenon would fail to gain significant ground, with its decline starting with the Iranian Revolution resulting in a secular nationstate and doing well. This influence would spread across the Middle East, with even Saudi Arabia being forced to try and force down some of their more reactionary elements. This left Pakistan somewhat isolated in its goals and endeavors. Additionally, their research into nuclear weaponry out of fear of India would lead to being sanctioned by many nations, including their former ally in the United States. This along with their provacations toward Afghanistan would lead to the war and Pakistan being sandwiched between the two. After their attempt with a nuclear weapon, it finally broke the nation and turned the general public against te government, now sick of the sanctions, blockades and war.

Pakistan was now a shell of itself, being a failed nation kept on life support by the US and USSR. Refugees flee toward the United States to start a new life, especially the widows and children there. Its provinces in Baluchistan, SIndh and Northwest Province seceded from Pakistan, with the last one even joining up with Afghanistan and completeing one of their major war goals. Besides the Northwest Province annexed into Afghanistan, an election was held for Baluchistan's fate. Ultimately, the citizens of Baluchistan would decide on having the former province join Afghanistan albeit as an autonomous region consisting The people of Baluchistan would have an elected, devolved legislature which has the ability to legislate in devolved matters along with the Baluchistan regiment serving as their own forces while being part of the bigger Afghanistan army. They would handle largely domestic affairs with the promotion of the Baluchi language and culture while also being to participate in the greater politics of Afghanistan, including elected the leaders. Additionally, this would also let Afghanistan's allies and supporters, such as the Soviet Union, to invest in the region as part of the rebuilding of Afghanistan, with the Afghani nation now having access to the sea, which is considered a priority for development. Sindh meanwhile remains sovereign though has been looking into other possibilities out of concern of being annexed by India. Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan meanwhile were occupied by India. They did not secede from Pakistan during the war though they did formalize it after the war. As such the question remained on what was it they wanted to do, with India pushing hard for taking them in as states. However, the elections would be delayed due to a change in structure overseen, namely Gilgit and Baltistan divisions voting seperately. Baltistan would vote to join India though the shock would with Gilgit being split on joining India or joining Afghanistan, an option that was originally included for formality's sake. Many speculated some in the Afghani government did this to secure the Karakoram Highway as part of potential plans for relations with the Chinese. This would lead to further discussions and complications.

Despite this, with Pakistan practically crippled, the Rajiv Gandhi adminstration celeberated with a massive jubilee in their victory of taking down their rival, gaining a large boost in popularity with the hopes that this will be enough to overcome the scandals and ride a wave to victory. However, with hubris, many make mistakes and one such was the administration's mishandling in the Punjab, which would take a tense situation and make it worse.

The New Khalistan Movement
The Khalistan movement changed quite a bit since the early 1980s. A movement seeking to create either an autonomous state or even a sovereign homeland for the Sikh people, it would see gradually increased militant activity over the years... until 1983. Pakistan, who was one of the movement's biggest enablers, would be caught with their uranium enrichment program as part of an unapproved nuclear weapon program . With relations already being a bit cold, the Americans responded by placing sanctions on them, which would be followed by their allies and even the Soviet Union with their sphere, leaving Pakistan practically isolated. Not even China would be able to do much for them outside just maintaining connections. With Pakistan weakened by this, they shifted more toward national security, which meant most if not all of the funds and support they were sending to the Khalistan movement would suddenly start. This would have notable differences over in the Khalistan movement, with the ISI now a practical non-factor over for them, this forced to rely on more domestic support and they could no longer rely on militant tactics as before. In fact, many Indian politcians would let their guard down and thought they would have less to worry about.

And then Operation Blue Star happened.

The entire ordeal lit a fresh fire in the hearts of the Sikh population, who were now enraged at the mishandling. This was made more intense by the anti-Sikh riots that would occur afterwards. And of course, the 1985 accords proved to be pretty lackluster here. While people were mad, they had to resort to different methods of expressing this if with not the same level of violence. Protests were being held, organizations were being grown over to support one another and there was some clashing with police going on during the years, with the militant groups being forced to serve more as bodyguards or leaving the movement as a result. There was a growing level of support for this new Khaistan movement here. Even during the war, there was still the movement.

In fact, some of them would participate over in the Afghan-Pakistani War for various reasons such as glory or stability or whatnot. Some even joined as an outlet of sorts for the rage they were feeling. When the war ended with victory, the various leaders came forward, celeberating the accomplishments of many of the Sikh soldiers, officers and generals here for helping to defend Afghanistan and with it, there came a push for Punjabi autonomy once more, as a way to try and fully repay for what happened in the past, celeberate the accomplishments of the present and finally move forward with the future.

However, the Rajiv administration, bolstered by the victory and viewing the movement and its followers as little threat with Pakistan gone, would pretty much downplay or even disregard the accomplishments here. And not just them, but also the various candidates for the election that was coming in this year

Unsurprisingly, that was the last straw...

Growing Protest
It was only five years since Operation Blue Star... and the the Anti-Sikh riots that followed afterwards. A year after that, came the Rajiv–Longowal Accord that got signed, which despite the attempts of reform, not much came out of it and it was ultimately deemed a disappointment , due to various factors, notably the failure in proosecuting the rioters and the issue remaining over Chandigarh. It was such a mess that Harchand Singh Longowal became the victim of an assassination attempt though said attempt would fail and Harchand Singh Longowal would manage to survive the incident, being forced to go into hiding. The entire ordeal was causing the people to crack more and more, with tensions getting higher to where some of the Hindi population began leaving while others doubled down and stood alongside their Sikh neighbors in moral outrage at the treatment the central government. However, what finally broke the patience was the snubbing after the war. All of the blood the Sikh soldiers spilled in service to the country along with their efforts seemed to matter little to nothing to the government along with the politicians running in the election.

The outrage of the Sikhs and their allies will not be ignored.

While a few violent skirmishes did occur, they were independent of any organization. Instead, the Sikhs looked at the rest of the world and found their answer. They saw how the Poles had done it. They saw the massive stretch of the Baltic people create a human chain. They saw peaceful defiance in the face of strong foes. They saw what they needed to do.

Over the next few weeks, various protests and marches were being held. Campaigns of civil disobediance were being held, exploiting the presence of the superpowers in the region and so they may focus on what was happening over in the Indian Punjab. For many people outside the region, it would be the first time hearing of the struggles of the Sikhs and serve as a good glimpse over into the complexities of India, including its various troubles such as the remnants of the caste system, the complicated nature of its religion and so on. While this was concerning over to the various politicians running in India, it served as a way to try and be something of a rallying point though other pressing matters such as the economy, which seemed closer to loom over an abyss laid there along with other problems. While it was getting attention and potentially growing pressure, it still seemmed like not much would happen.

However, Pakistan, even with what has been lost, was paying attention and through the remaining ISI channels with the US CIA and so on... a desperate proposal was given.

 

[CountDVB]

Autumn 1989- Wallfall


The Fall of the Berlin Wall, 1989​

While the protests in the Punjab of India kept grabbing attention, the Askew Administration was wrestling with a prominent proposition. However, President Askew would also have to deal with Hurricane Hugo, a powerful hurricane that ravaged the Caribbean along with the southeastern United States. [1] With billions of dollars in damages and dozens dead, the Askew Administration poured money and effort into extensive rebuilding projects over in the affected areas along with medical assistance. At the same time, plans were made between the various Caribbean nations for additional aid, especially as Europe and Latin America also pooled their resources in to assist with the reperations from Hurricane Hugo. Despite the devastating powerful along with the ecological consequences, the people began to rebuild anew, with new plans of city planning and urban planning being put in. This would have a prominent affect over in the southeast politics as Vice President Chisholm would make appearances to promote morale. Meanwhile, the heavy government investment and involvement further damaged the support of neoconservative politicians, with the Liberal Republicans making more and more support in the states though still competing with the Democrats in that regard.

The world kept on turning. The changes kept on coming. South Africa's government was being forced now concede to bigger demands from the pressure of the world, including the release of Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress Party finally becoming legalized, with many speculating that the influence will be seen in 1990's elections for them. Vietnam ends its occupation of Cambodia with the last of the troops now leaving. Denmark would make history as they became the first nation to legalize civil unions over for same-sex relationships and sparking a debate over the legalization of civil unions for them or just go all the way and legalize same-sex marriage. Technology also continues to develop as seen with the the first commercial dial-up Internet connection in North America is made, by The World STD. Meanwhile, NASA would launch the unmanned Galileo orbiter on a mission to study the planet Jupiter, via Atlantis mission STS-34.[1]

However, most of all was everything going on over in the Soviet sphere of influence. More and more, the Warsaw Pact was falling apart as the people were rejecting it more and more. Yet, it did so in a way that showed reform rather than rejection. While the Poles were the one that bravely started the progress, the dominos kept falling to show what the future would hold. he biggest example was with East Germany. While Austria and Hungary opening their borders for people from East Germany to cross over, protestors were growing louder and louder, clamoring for democratic reforms, with one of the biggest being the Alexanderplatz demonstration in East Berlin with over half a million people. Eventually, the pressure began breaking the government, leading to the Communist leader of East Germany, Erich Honecker, stepping down as leader of the country (albeit primarily due to health problems) and his successor being Egon Krenz, who weeks later had to deal with the Communist government resigning weeks later, albeit with him still as head and state and then... the wall finally falling from all the pressure. Meanwhile, Hungary votes to restore multi-party democracy to their nation and opening borders with Austria and Bulgarian Communist Party leader Todor Zhivkov would be replaced by Foreign Minister Petar Mladenov, who begins laying the foundation for what would be the Bulgarian Socialist Party. Velvet Revolution occurs in Czechoslovakia. A peaceful student demonstration in Prague is severely beaten back by riot police, which leads to mass escalation, with the number of peaceful protesters assembled growing from 200,000 the day before to an estimated half-million. Eventually, General Secretary Miloš Jakeš and the other leaders of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia resign and the party announcing their surrender on monopoly on political power with elections being held in December, with other nations like Romania on the brink . Poland themselves have continued moving forward, with speculated plans to go from their current system to a mixed economy or market socialist one. [1]

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[1]- Information and phrasing from here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1989

 

[CountDVB]

1989- A Bold Opportunity​

Background
Pakistan has fallen very far to say the least. Having lost everything but the Punjab, its government is a temporary affair until they decide a new system, a good chunk of the higher-ups have fled to parts unknown along with more than a few soldiers (though it has been speculated they were given safety to the Soviets or Chinese in exchange for bending the knee and joining them). Their economy is in shamble and while the sanctions are somewhat gone, that's mainly to prevent the state from collapasing into anarchy and creating a massive refugee crisis, albeit while there are some already fleeing. Overall, the situation was looking pretty grim for them. The inhabitants were desperate for stability and many disenheartened, some even by their own faith due to seeing it abused and twisted by the Zia-ul-Haq regime prior while the younger generation were more angry and rebellious about it. The United States and the Soviet Union meanwhile were trying to find solutions as they could remain there forever. While it was easier for the USSR due to proximity, the oncoming wave of rebellion and the inevitable dissolution of the Warsaw Pact was proving to be a much more immediate concern to them, especially with some wondering if the constinuent nations of the USSR would do the same. This gave the United States an informal greater presence here. Afghanistan did not much care for it since they were consolidating their holdings though trying to lend a hand to maintain cordial relations on both sides. India meanwhile is focusing on their elections along with the looming threat of their econoy collapsing, a phenomenon that has been going understated in the elections, but has been growing harder and harder to ignore.

Overall, Pakistan was quite in a desperate situation, especially with the damaged reputation meaning few if any nations would be willing to lend them aid, especially because of how they were surrounded by potential and current enemies. They would need the aid of one of the superpowers to secure themselves, but beyond that, they'd need to be able to try and wipe the state clean, though it was unknown how. The leadership had enough trust to try and keep it on life support, but they were not trusted abroad beyond that, especially with some having fled elsewhere, including to Saudi Arabia for their own safety and that of their families. However, from such a dangerous opportunity, a bold new plan would be hatched. The remnants of Pakistan's ISI had been keeping tabs on their environment, including India. The Khalisan movement they once worked with had gone on without their support, growing stronger against India's neglectful attitude of them and the cries were gradually changing from autonomy to secession among some.

And from that... came an idea.

A bold and drastic idea. The ISI floated this idea to the remaining leadership of Pakistan, to the few remaining connections over in Khalistan and even to the CIA of the United States...

Punjabi Secession?
Seceding was a very serious matter. And while they were gaining more and more prominence over in the Punjab, it still seemed like it would be a rather far-off option, at least at first glance for many people living in the Indian Punjab. After all, even if they did succeed, how would they be able to take care of themselves, especially being sandwiched between various prominent nations? They would obviously need the backing of a powerful nation, even a superpower, to be able to seriously consider the notion to go through with it. At the same time, various elements were keeping the idea still in people's minds. First, people were becoming more aware of the dangerous situation that India's economy was approaching. While it was in the background due to the growing reliance of imports and other factors outside of it, it grew worse starting in the mid-1980s as imports swelled and the Afghan-Pakistani War left an impact over on the nation and made the imports more needed. The result was a twin deficit, where the Indian trade balance was in deficit and at the same time, the government was running on a huge fiscal deficit.

India's foreign exchange reserves were dwindling and it was almost a bet on what would fail first, the trade balance or the government. Discussions were even held over the World Bank and IMF over their assistance over with India. Besides the economic concerns and the government's lackluste direction in how to deal with it, there was also the frustration over with the government and their failures at addressing the plight and grievances of the Sikhs. From the issues within the 1970s, to Operation Blue Star to the anti-Sikh riots... this anger endured and remained, even if channeled to more pacifistic means such as protests and growing shows of support. The greatest slap on the face was the final push done for it to become an autonomous region, having even gathered support among the various Sikh soldiers, military officials and even generals within the nation to try and help push this along... but to no avail, with not much of a response from Rajiv or the other politicians that were running. With Pakistan gone, the Indian government felt they had little else to worry about and thus, viewed the Sikhs as less of a threat or perhaps with the hope the movement would die down if they left it alone over time and to run out of steam. Besides, they did have larger problems to worry about and it was quite a large nation.

Nonetheless, the sentiments kept the idea of secession alive. However, the idea would suddenly go from a vivid daydream to a plausible reality.

The ISI would get into contact with some of their Khalistan affiliates and to the leaders spread a most interesting proposition: for Indian Punjab to secede from India... and to form Khalistan by merging with the remains of Pakistan.

Virtually all of the Punjab reunited at last... and the reclaimation of Lahore and Amritsar over for the Sikh people...

It was quite an intoxicating proposal to say the least. They would get what they want and then some. Of course, there was more than a few issues. India would definitely not take this well if done... at least without the backing of a superpower. Additionally, there would be a matter of the political will and if both people were wanting this. After all, the Sikhs would be outnumbered in their supposed homeland here, not to mention how the people of Pakistan would feel about this... Yet... such a proposal reinforced the possibility of secession within their minds of the leaders.

All while in the Indian Punjab, these protests kept happening. Walkouts were becoming increasingly common by the youth captivated by this ideals and driven by a resentment toward what they perceived as a government and nation that were hostile to their ideals. Peaceful protests kept being maintained through sitdowns or peaceful marches. While the cries of autonomy have not yet been overtaken by that of secession, the anxiety remained. After all, even if they did get autonomy, would the federal government want to maintain it? Could they trust it?

Enter The Americans
When the Askew Adminiation would hear news of the CIA, they were not expecting this endeavor. It was without a doubt quite a daring and risky endeavor. US relations with India were being improved over the past few years so this could be a potential major setback to say the least. At the same time, it would be an opportunity to strengthen American presence in the area, which his security advisors have been pushing. This could easily be done by investing heavily in the new nation. After all, it would not be unlike stuff with the Marshall Plan and so on, and it would help the new nation get up on its feet and manage itself economically. By becoming a new state, especially with brand new leadership, it would further establish that this a new state, different from Pakistan. This would be especially prominent given how most of the landed elite of Pakistan had fled the nation around the last months of the war, especially when the nuclear bomb left. This left a good opportunity for a political fresh start.

As for the Pakistani peoples' thoughts on the matter... it was unsure to be honest. Granted, all that was left was the Punjab and thus there would be a shared language between them along with some culture. At the same time, concerns over the religion would be part of it though safeguards could be put in, along with the Americans overseeing the process to ensure everything would go well in the drafting of legislation and elections. From the connections of the ISI to the possibility of a new state, they were quite open to the idea though primarily just to move beyond these past dangerous and wartorn years. The idea of it having Punjabi as a national language was also appealing and the promise of a secular state just added it. Combine this with renewed and reinforced relations to the US and economic support... it would be quite a promising solution after all. However, it would come at basically forsaking the idea of an Isalmist state and embracing secularism, along with a potential Sikh bent.

Over back in the Indian Punjab, they had to keep it secretive, but the idea of seceding now seemed like a powerful possibility. Yet it had to be handled correctly otherwise they would end up in serious trouble. Of course, the answer actually was to how... They needed the confirmed support of the people to do so. And the only way to do was by voting. Of course, the logistics of trying to establish that, especially with the potential issues that the election system has. As such, plans were being underway by the local government to try and perform a referendum to guage what people were wanting, all in the background. All while the Indian election was going on in the background. While the election was filled with patriotic fervor from a war victory, the looming problems that laid above seemed like a sword. ready to fall at any time...

 

[CountDVB]

1989 Overview​

With President Reubin Askew having been sworn in as president, his administration is already shaping to be taking a different direction than that of his predecesor. While he has kept his focus on maintaining the long term reforms such as on electrifying the rails and the nuclear power plants that were started by Udall, he seemed to slow down somewhat on the reforms for the most part, though this was mainly because of his plan to switch to political reforms regarding Washington DC and so on. This included his executive action against lobbying along with outlining some potential legislation that would primarily affect Congress. Potential legislation such as restricting owning stock while being in Congress along with other ideas that he saw necessary to help maintain political integrity and financial transparency. Another difference he had when compared with his predecessor was an increased presence in foreign affairs. While Udall focused on domestic policy and retreated somewhat from the world, President Askew found himself and his nation in a changing world. One that saw Soviet Union and their holdings falling apart and approaching a changing point, along with that of many other nations. As such, there would be the need to maintain that presence for American interests. That said, American interests have shifted since Udall first took power, being more laid back and diplomatic, and generally more focused on keeping things from becoming chaotic more anything else.

Economically, things were quite in full swing and the technological sector was becoming more and more appealing for people to enter as a career. So much so that various state, especially those that were seeing a decline in their industrial sectors, were looking to try and court some of these companies with incentives. After all, coputers were becoming more popular and the release of the Nintendo Game Pal, a handheld video game system, would help bring about a fresh wave of enthusiasts who enjoy playing video games and further connecting them. Another economic change came with the American Plastic Regulation Act, a piece of legislation to curb the use of single-use plastics from the production angle. This one piece of legislation would have a profound affect over on American culture and beyond, especially as many venues and establishments would scramble to adjust to this new way of being. Despite the down turns caused by the failures of various savings and loans institutions, the Askew Administration has responded by another round of a stimulus package, especially by those affected and other individuals.

Abroad, the world was changing alot over the course of one year. The Warsaw Pact was dissolving and it was a matter on when rather than if, especially as more and more of them were pushing for political change. It started with Poland and it began going from there as seen with the Baltic nations, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and many of the others. At the same time, the benefits of things seen from Gorbachev's reforms gave an indication that certain models such as a mixed economy and market socialism would remain in some form or fashion in these states. Even the Soviet Union was trying to change how it was conducting its political activites, especially with Gorbachev trying to circumvent the more hardline members opposed to change within his own party. He would not be the only one dealing with this issue however. Over in the People's Republic of China, General Secretary Zhao Ziyang managed to calm down a series of protests over at Tiananmen Square, due to the angry student protestors desiring democrating reforms. Howeve, he would butt heads with the premier Li Peng, who being a hardliner, saw these protests and new organizations as a threat to the party. After failing to go behind his back, Li Peng would become informally targeted by China's "paramount leader" of the time, Deng Xiaoping, who would be marshalling his support to try and oust Li Peng and his supporters from power in order to continue his reforms, all while eyeing the Soviets and seeing what could be learned from there. China's rival in India was also on the verge of facing changes. After Afghanistan and India's victory over Pakistan in the Afghan-Pakistani War, India no longer had to worry on their old bitter rival, leaving them without a boogeyman to project their problems on. While there was a rush of unit and sense of patriotism from the victory, enough for Rajiv Gandhi to win reelection and remain in charge of India in spite of the scandals. However, this leaves him still with an increasingly unstable economy along with growing discontent upon the population.

In the entertainment sphere, one of the big news was on Marvel Comics. After a bidding war for them, it would go to none other than former Marvel editor Jim Shooter via Voyager Communications or more accurately, to Voyager Communications and their predominant backer, none other than Paramount Communications. Much like how Time-Warner owned all of DC Comics' properties, Paramount knows has it with Marvel. Jim Shooter, back in Marvel, went ahead with a plan agreed with editor DeFalco in rebooting the Marvel Comic universe. In a sense, wiping most of the slate clean with a fresh start. This was done to freshen up the stories, with the events being brought about by one final grand arc. Shooter himself notes that one of the big reasons for this move was the popularity of Tim Burton's Batman film, which would see the caped crusader over on the big screen with Batman vs the Joker. It brought plenty of faith and renewed hope in superhero films, serving as quite a pleasant light despite all the issues going over in Hollywood. Despite the situation which would see various prominent figures be brought in for questioning on sexual assault and begin confronting the dark side of Hollywood, films were still coming out and captivating the audience.

Beyond Batman giving new life to superhero films, Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade brought to life a new style of pulp two-fisted tales and adventures going on. Dead Poets Society touched plenty of hearts while Disney would once more impress audience with The Little Mermaid, being an impressive feat, showing Ariel's journey and her facing off against Ursula, an old foe of her father and noted for her characterization being based on of real estate mogul, Donald Trump, (due to a writer having been inspired by The Art of the Deal), which would become more infamous due to the mogul being tried for various accusations. Other films included Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Back to the Future II, When Harry Met Sally and Weekend at Bernie's. One film that wouldn't get released, at least this year, would be Spike Lee's project, Do The Right Thing, which people have attributed to the need for various rewrites and a controversy caused by an actress regarding a nude scene, something reported by Gloria Jean Watkins aka "bell hooks", a prominent writer and figure in third wave feminism. While concerns over the films' fate was held, it would be released next year thanks to various donations, especially thanks to various actors and reviewers who have seen rough copies and deemed it good enough it needed to be finished. Television meanwhile would see various releases such as Chip n Dale: Rescue Rangers, Seinfeld, Doogie Howser, M.D. and most notably, The Simpsons. Video games would see the release of Super Mario Bros 3 among many others and showing that video games were still going quite strong.

 

[CountDVB]

Culture Reflection: 1987 - 1989​

1987 showed the arrival of the late 1980s. It would be the transitioning point between President Udall and his successor President Askew. And that transitioning point was marked wth a growing amount of changes. The Askew Administration would be elected in along with the Congress under the new rules established in 1987; the Fair District Representation Act effectively outlawed gerrymandering and reorganized districted based on population without political interference while the Fair Reapportion Act would result in the formalization of the so-called "Wynoming Rule", which would see the House of Representatives grow considerably. And these changes would likely become more profound in the early 1990s when the new census would be taken. Meanwhile, the 1988 election and the debacle over the Republican primary that resulted in John B. Anderson leaving the Republican Party and running as an independent, even outperforming their candidate. It exposed the divisions in the party and portrayed a political party unwilling to get with the times or unable to fully manage itself. Even while most of the frustration aimed at the party due to the Nixon & Reagan administrations have seemingly died down, the incident here brought with it a sense of disappointment and a strange feeling of where things would go. After all, was this really what American conservatism was? Or was it merely just an outdated form, much like how the conservatives of previous eras would be out of place in modernity. They would not be the only ones feeling this though. The Warsaw Pact would start dissolving over the next short years in quite a surprise, leaving the Soviet Union vulnerable and having to face change. China, who has been reforming and climbing out of tis economic troubles, faces similar issues, with both of them having reformers face off with hardliners with the implication of the latter groups being accused of being power hungry. A bold new era was approaching, showing the 1990s would start off with a bang.

General Trends
The late 1980s being a period of change would be defined on all sectors, including the cultural front. Following from the heels of the accusations toward Bill Cosby, more and more high profile individuals in Hollywood as well as the business world and that of politics were being exposed for their past crimes toward women and the rising demand for justice and accountability. From real estate mogul Donald Trump to cinema presence Harvey Weinstein, many powerful and prominent figures would have their seedy pasts examined, their sins revealed and the gavel fall on them. This was not the only trend happening however. The focus on media would also point the light to young actors and actresses, especially the concerns over child abuse or exploitation within Hollywood over in the very late 1980s and continuing on into the 1990s. About the only saving grace was that the Unions were quick to respond and to help protect the vulnerable, helping to make the process easier. To many, it served as quite an eyeopener over how the landscape was and while there was those who owned up to their failures and did their best to amend and atone, others denied it and doubled down on it. The opening of the rot in Hollywood and the struggle in chipping away at the messed up system would have long term rammifications over on with future productions. Though while live action films were hit hard, animation got by under the radar or was at least more efficient in cleaning up their messes there. Often with rules that would have people attend counseling and likely more if health concerns were noted. A notable example of this would be Mike J Kricfalusi, a senior director for the popular animated series Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures who would strongly recommended for some professional diagnosis and revealing that he suffered from bipolar disorder among other issues. This was part of a greater trend of a focus toward mental health, something that would begin trickling down by the end of the decade.

Speaking of crime, the late 1980s showed a rather fascinating pattern with it, namely in the ways of dealing with it. Some of the first studies coming in associated with the National Bureau of Healthcare studying over the effects of addiction along with the HIV/AIDS epidemic was what led to the relatively decrimianization of drug possession over back in mid 1980s. The results were gradually being shown as less young people, especially minority, were getting involved in violent activity. This seem to prove that the more reformative approach was working and would be combined with programs on helping the young, either through finding hobbies or volunteering. One place of note was in hospitals, with some doing a bit of a "scare em straight" on drugs while others more to inspire the need for a healthy life or even pursuing medicine. In fact, thanks to the full establishment regarding vocational schools and their promotions, more young people were encouraged to go to them. While racial tensions remained, they had deceased noticeably since the start of the decade thanks to the various combination of factors such as a better approach to drug offenses, deescalation further put in for police, and much of the efforts by Secretary of State Carter as well as Askew himself back as Vice President, namely through organizing matters on state level and local level. While there was plenty of systemic work to be done, the trust and reputation set in by Udall and especially Askew held prominent sway over on the population to start confronting the local problems and making in roads, a process now taken over by Vice President Chisholm.

Another contributing factor to that was the economy. With people having more money to spend, they were able to keep the flow of funds going. While the old habits of frugality remained over from the past, new technologies were quite an appeal to a lot of people. At the same time, it was seen as an investment as the future would be driven more and more by computer technology as well as renewable energy. So people would begin going into purchasing computers or video game consoles though it would also be seen as the growth of people traveling across the United States and the world. Other times people would often donate it to those less fortunate, a sentimentality born from reflecting on how it's been a decade since the economic troubles of the late 1970s, how far they have come and a need to do more. The technology sector was beginning to grow more and more over time and many states were starting to take notice. States like West Virginia and Michigan, who were seeing their traditional industries start grinding down to a halt because of the environmental impacts along with automization would see their populations push for change and the state governments planning different ideas to lure some of the business to set up headquarters there or promote homegrown talent to try and do so. Overall, it would be notable to see how the Askew Administration would handle the upcoming affairs of the end of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s.

Films
Films continued to become a prominent notice over for the Americans, with many classics coming out at the time. Good Morning Vietnam, Termination, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Die Hard, Weekend at Bernie's, Back to the Future II and many more films that would become hallmarks for adults growing up and ready to show their kids. Termination and Die Hard would prove the action film craze was not over though Die Hard would change things around by having an everyman hero to be focused on. It helped increased the tension and relability of the character. Other films would become successes, from comedies such as Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure to mroe dramatic films like Driving Miss Daisy. Overall, it would prove to be some good years over for film. However, it would also serve as a complicated contrast as many of the events in the background regarding the accusations and trials of various actors or other bigshots who committed illicit behavior. Unsurprisingly, many saw this as a positive change and a much-needed cleaning up over with the industry. A consequence though is it would also lead to various holes and gaps that would be needed to be filled with new talent, talent that now have some reservations over now getting involved in the industry in the first place after everything was said and done. Who Framed Roger Rabbit would be remembered as quite a memorable masterpiece to where some of the top folk, including Henson, would push for either a sequel or a prequel. Beyond that, more general films would be enjoyed of average quality though this time period would be notable for being the first half of the "queersploitation" era seen in film and especially in television.

Though speaking of animation, The Little Mermaid would become the starting point of the so-called "Disney Renaissance" that would continue over in the 1990s with a greater focus over on writing, with more fleshed out protagonists and more memorable antagonists. However, this would not be the only major break for animated films. The major success of My Neighbor Totoro would show the western world the beauty of Japanese animation and people would become hungry for more, as seen with the success of the release of the dubbing of Castle in the Sky. Their own flights of fantasy, unique character design and the strong heart of the female protagonists captured many imagination and hooked children on Japanese animation while even parents were amazed by it. However, the big release was over for the young adults... the teenagers... and those who wished to see what Japanese animation could really do... AKIRA. A masterfully crafted and animated cyberpunk film, it would be released in the US by Touchstone Pictures as a rated R film, with careful consideration being done with the dubbing. After Totoro, the idea of a rated R Japanese animated film intrigued alot of teenagers, young adults and animation buffs who were blown away by the work. More and more visionaries and radicals in the industry were quite surprised at it. While not everyone's cup of tea, it did show what animated films could really do and in a way, challenged those in the US to step up their game. Advertising was a bit of a difficult task, but some clever marketing and word of mouth helped there, creating a tidy profit, but more importantly, returning the idea of animation as serious cinematic endeavors into the mainsteam once more.

Television
Television would see more prominence, especially with the growing popularity of domestic family sitcoms such as Full House and Family Matters becoming treasured experiences for many people and their actors gaining a good deal of popularity, especially more notable ones such as Huxtables’ House with Glynn Turman as the tough yet fair and warm family patriarch of the family. Perhaps the big bombshell was none other than My Two Dads. With the implementation of SATMIN civil rights along with the support of the public, it gave more and more faith in the industry to start focusing and discussing the topic. One bold choice in particular would be none other than the show My Two Dads. The show focused on a young woman with her two fathers, revealed that they met when pursuing the same woman, her mother. However, it's unknown who the biological father was and so both serve as her fathers, with the point of the two fathers in being multi. While this was viewed by some as a bit of a cop out, the show did make some genuine effort into it despite the troubles regarding actors and keeping things relatively toned down (well, no more toned down than the average sitcom anyway). It was viewed as quite a prominent move though the topic regarding sexuality and the like was never talked much on the show itself. Unsurprisingly, while there was still some flack of it from certain individuals, it was drowned out by the support and the fact that it was a relatively decent show,. Beyond that, other shows that would gain a large following would air at the time such as Mystery Science Theater 3000, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Quantum Leap, Dougie Howser M.D and one of the most famous, Seinfeld. Overall, television was becoming more prominent and often a place to test out the waters before going to film... or becoming a haven from film.

Animation in television meanwhile would see a massive shift here. Disney would throw down the gauntlet by upping the game with Ducktales followed by Chip n Dale: Rescue Rangers, showing off quite a large leap forward for animation in television, relying on syndication rights along with quality to make back the money along with the hopes of popularity for merchandise. Other companies would look at this and begin planning for the future as a result. However, the other big bombshell came in the form of The Simpsons, a satire on American boomer culture and of sitcoms, courteys of MetroFox Media. Raw, a bit crass and provactive for the time, it left quite an impact on the brightbangers who watched it and got plenty of laughs of the misadventures of the Simpsons family.

Music
The late 1980s would still much of the rise of pop music. Aretha Franklin becomes the first woman to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame while Micheal Jackson's Bad becomes quite a massive hit despite the increasing seclusion of the King of Pop, leading to some concerns on health. However, while pop music was alive and well, a new genre of music was gradually taking the American youth by storm and likely to become the next big thing. That of hip-hop, such as seen with the works of the Beastie Boys as well as the works over of James Brown. While still in its early stages, hip hop is looking to follow in the footsteps of that of jazz, that of the upbeat and popular among the youth yet here, now laced with a rough edge and often with blunt messaging. While somewhat political, it's also been noted that the spectrum is mixed, which some note is likely due to the popularity of Mo Udall and Reubin Askew. However, anti-authoritarian messaging remains, especially at dealing with terrible bosses while also some aspects of anti-corporate messaging has begin also as part of it.

Other
Video games continue to find themselves being popular among many people. The release of the Nintendo Game Pal made people able to play on the go, with the Game Pal version of Tetris quickly becoming the most popular. Meanwhile, the NES would further show its capabilities with the release of various new games, with the big one being none other than Super Mario Bros 3, which took on the qualities of the origina and improved it. Other consoles came out to play such as the Sega Genesis or the Mega Drive console would follow up from the Sega Master System and new titles such as Mega Man garnering more and more attention. At the same time, Nintendo's growing savviness with selling to those outside of Japan would pay off with some good decisions and the release of the fascinating modern RPG known as Mother, which would become something of a sleeper hit. Overall, as the technology was growing and developing, more and more American companies were forced to try and figure out how to enter the market since it is looking to not be a fad. Speaking of gaming, tabletop gaming would continue to grow with the release of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition, though with the news on whether Gygax would remain on TSR or what he would do.

The Brass Age of Comic Books pressed onward. While DC Comics were starting out and laying the new foundations over for their modern setting, Marvel meanwhile was going through a rough transition before finally doing the same over with their work, coming with their acquisation by Paramount and Voyager Communications. However, moreover, would begin the so-called British Invasion, noted for many British writers coming in and lending their talent over to these branches. The success was kicked off by Alan Moore's Watchman, a surprisingly somewhat dark story of a superhero murder mystery set in the equivalent of the Golden Age of Comics. While loosely based on the characters of Charlton Comics, it also borrowed elements from varying Golden Age archetypes, most being normal people, barring Dr. Manhatten, who possesses superpowers, being inspired by Charleston's Captain Atom and DC's own Captain Comet. As such, many British writers would be invited to tell various stories and provide suggestions for what is to come here, with some using it to indulge in some of the American optimism thanks to the decade. DC Comics beyond their normal works, would see their new imprint in Vertigo capture many a imagination, especially with the beginning of Neil Gaiman's Sandman line. Moore himself would follow it up in establishing a new origin for the Joker in The Killing Joke as a somewhat tragic and twisted character, doomed by his own madness. Overall, many were excited for the new things that would be coming up.

 

[CountDVB]

Political Retrospection: 1985 - 1989 Part 1​

The Anglosphere
The case of United States vs Exxon would be quite an influential one in the whole nation and arguably the whole world. The court case revealed that Exxon and various other fossil fuel had conducted their own research, not only concluding that climate change caused by fossil fuel usage was a very real possibility and phenomenon, but that rather than share that knowledge, they planned on suppressing it and conspiring to spread fraud to the public about it. Coming off the heels of the case against Big Tobacco, it would rattle the public. With the rise of the baby boomers having families along with the brightbangers becoming adults too, they were the predominant vote force and were not happy with this. As such, this would establish environmental safety and long-term sustainability as top priorities on federal and state levels. Unsurprisingly, the Udall Administration would go forward with this and push the Democrats hard to go and pursue these policies on various levels. While this did lead to some trouble in certain states like West Virginia, the importance of the situation helped push them while also devoting resources to help the transition from communities who relied on fossil fuels for their economy, going from things like clean nuclear energy or preparing to shift to a service economy or the computer boom. The Republicans were more divided, due to those who were opposed to heavy government intervention and believed just the market itself would be sufficient. Others were more pragmatic since they pointed the case damaged credabiltiy on just trusting the companies for it. Beyond just the ecological motivation though, the SATMIN civil rights movement along with third wave feminism kept picking up steam, as their victories enabled to gain more outreach for the various minorities in the US, also using such connections and works with their allies to try and resolve issues like racial tensions, which would see some success as one of Udall's last acts was to pardon people who were jailed for mere possession of drugs. This was done in secrecy to not influence the election and only came out in 1989, surprising more than a few people at this. Askew would continue on finishing the list of names, having noting the disproportionate affect on people of color.

Up over in Canada, they were having to keep up with their neighbor and the revelations of the case naturally seeped over into Canadian politics as well, with some growing calls for the expansion into environmental power. Their National Geothermal Program, which had been potentially on the chopping block, was renewed and brought back to life, with the discoveries coming out of Canada's favorability to geothermal energy, specifying on the types with various locations and providing a new big discussion point over in politics. The NDP and Liberal parties capitalized on these new opportunities to try and push forward for this, especially with the influence of third wave feminism and SATMIN+ civil rights empowering those going up north as well. All of this was empower both of those parties, enough that it would see John Turner become the new Prime Minister, beating Brian Mulroney though having to form a coalition government with the NDP under Ed Broadbent. As such, they would begin pushing for some growing reforms there, such as to try and expand healthcare and for the civil rights, to try and keep up with the US. One party that would benefit alot of this would be the growing Green Party of Canada. With all of these changes, there were growing times for more political reforms to balance the concerns and needs of the people, especially French-Canadians, along with the Metis and the First Nations folk, who have all been inspired by the movements of their American neighbors.

Over in the United Kingdom, as the complications in dealing with the IRA continue on, the elections have seen a changing of the guard. . The UK would see a change come in with a hung parliament, resulting in the Tories under new leader Sir Geoffrey Howe managing to form a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats who took voters from both the Tories and Labour Party, albeit more from the former. Meanwhile, Roy Hattersley became became the new leade of the Labor Party and thus theLeader of the Opposition. though many have speculated that he may not stay as leader of the Labour party for long. Mainly because of the growing prominence of Peter Shore along with the return of Tony Benn, especially with SATMIN social movements tied in. As such, some predict the return of the Bennites as a prominence force. Meanwhile over in Australia, Bob Hawke 's Labor Government would grow their majority quite nicely over there, pushing the similar reforms. Both of them would also have to try and deal with the news on the climate change, such as with the British with their coal and Australia with their mining industries. It was becoming a greater concern for people. At the same time, the growing social movements would be spreading, especially because of American influence spreading such on the youth and giving fuel to the fire of the homegrown sort of movements.


Latin America
Latin America managed to avoid issues coming from the oil crisis causing economic disruptions, primarily thanks to the United States under the Udall administration pushing the IMF to not force the countries to place austerity measures (arguing that it would just stunt growth and not pay off along with other impracticalities) and just provide massive amounts of debt relief, allowing them to start going on once more. However, the revelations from the Americans' court case on oil would have profound implications to say the least.

Mexico would be quite impacted to say the least. Under the long iron-fisted rule of the PRI for decades, the people were becoming sick and tired. However, the case about fossil fuels would hit Mexico where it hurts: Pemex. With oil prices now damaged by the revelation and pushing for a need fo phase out fossil fuels and fuel efficiency, the PRI would be suffering quite a bit. The PRI's preexisting corruption and the memories of the Dirty War had been a backlog and Pemex now in trouble just fueled Mexico even more to go and show their frustration. Primarily in the 1988 general elections, where Cuauhtemoc Cárdenas was going against Carlos Salinas de Gortari. However, the large concerns about potential voter fraud would get the attentions of the Americans to keep an eye on things. When Salinas would win over Cárdenas, much of the nation was up over in frustration and outrage. However, Cárdenas would not exploit the opportunity to potentially call upon his supporters for this matter out of concern for violence. This did not stop peaceful protests and even Mexico's neighbors showed concern. President Udall noted that Mexico should've let the UN come to investigate such matters and that a party needing to rely on such chicanery to win did not deserve the support of the people. Some have even speculated that had Cárdenas requested assistance, the various powers, including the US, would've gotten involved. While Salinas would be considered a victor, it was a barely a pyrrhic victory at best, especially as the PRI would still be forced to contend with further problems, the loss of trust from the governments of their neigbors and Cárdenas would remain around, especially with the founding of the Partido de la Revolución Democrática.

Central America meanwhile would continue recovering from the 1970s and the leftists in charge would consolidate their victories within power, feeling comfortable to really begin moving forward with infrastructure development and their economies. At the same time, the decline of the Warsaw Pact was giving a pause on the various leftist governments, wondering on what to do and perhaps what not to do. Despite this, the countries were doing their best to putting in various reforms though some needed to face other issues. The Sandinistas of Nicaragua were feeling pressure because of the accusations of human rights violations, especially with the indigenous people. El Salvador was trying to balance the issues with its political parties. Honduras was still rebuilding though others were gong further and doing well, like Guatemala. Additionally, they were having to adjust to the rapid new world of technology that would start making it way in.

South America, happily free from Operation Condor, continued its gradual leftward shifting and recovering from the painful years of the juntas. Like their northern neighbors, the fossil fuel revelation and the oncoming computer boom was starting to have some affects on the politics of the nations. Venezuela would find itself in political turmoil as its primary export in petroleum has become jeopardized by the more unstable market and having to force the need for widescale reforms and a change a priority, hinting at further economic turmoil. Brazil meanwhile would gain some more prominence there as ecological groups began pushing for greater preservation and management of the Amazon Rainforest, a push that is seeing domestic growth also by the indigenous people of Brazil. Meanwhile the US and Colombia have renegotiated with one another; while the focus now laid on handling the drug trafficking there, the US still ended support of certain military groups as part of the so-called war against communism. This also included the US having to go and make reforms to rein in the various companies involved, including Chiquita. Peru meanwhile was having to renegotiate with the Americans and other financial institutions over Peru's hyperinflation and potential bailouts, with American intelligence beginning to uncover evidence of a potental coup by the military along with the troubles from the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement and the Shining Path. Chile was still recovering from the end of the Pinochet regime back in 1983 and relations with the Americans have been improving, especially with infrastructure development. Some of the remnants of Allende's folk have begun coming back to the nation with pardons and hoping to try and continue on his work with the new government.

In a very fascinating turn of events, one of the big revelations of Chile would be that Project Cybersyn. The work of project architect Stafford Beer, the idea of management cybernetics applied to the economy, especially a mixed or planned one, emerged once more in the talks, especially when as part of the works to repair relations, Chile would be given a substantial boost in the development of computers with the folk of Project GNU, which in turn introduced them and subsequently many other bright minds to the ideals and possibilities behind Project Cybersyn. Unsurprisingly, it began meshing well with the open source ideals along with that of gowing a free internet for everyone and even a few of the big names within the industry such as Wozniak and supposedly even Jobs himself showed interest in all this. This was not just limited to the American computer community either, especially as the growing international network began spreading the ideas around. The news of a computer-empowered planned economy intrigued certain groups in the Soviet Union and China. Beer, who had been living in austere life in Wales, would find himself inviting to software conferences and to help further refine the theories of management cybernetics with the growing computational power, the young Internet and so on.

 

[CountDVB]

Political Retrospection: 1985 - 1989 Part 2​

Europe (NATO-Aligned)
The Americans' court case regarding the revelations of climate change would also cause some alarms to ring across over in their allies of Europe. France meanwhile still had François Mitterrand over in office, becoming notable for his apology to the Huguenots along with he and American President Udall crediting two men for discovering HIV. Meanwhile in Germany, 1987 would see Helmut Schmidt no longer in the SPD, having clashed too much with the left wing of the party and paving away for "the Union" to rise in power, albeit in a coalition with the FDP. However, German politics would be thrown into a loop with the rise of the Green Party. The news coming from the Americans provided them a potent shot in the arm and they were becoming more prominent s a result of this. New leader Helmut Kohl would be finding himself having to now adjust the economy for this. However, bigger news came with the possibility of German reunification over in the upcoming years. Spain continued to develop further and further thanks to the new change in government and the oncoming leftist tide for them provided a good breath of fresh air for them.

Italy meanwhile had managed to recover with their economy, being seen as something of a miracle and gaining a healthy amount of prestige and clout, especially after the rough "Years of Lead". With inflation now down, the focus was much on the exports of small and medium sized enterprises and it was looking to be a good time over for Italy. The Netherlands continued its growling social liberalization over in the late 1980s with the new government while also experiencing a bit more economic growth. Many of the Nordic nation continue to grow and develop, even showing some interest in some of the market socialist techniques their eastern neighbor was doing, especially Finland who at the same time, was also increasing ties to the West, especially with the oncoming dissolution of the Warsaw Pact. Norway meanwhile found itself in a bit of a pickle with the revelations due to the reliance on their petroleum. While they remain unaffected in the short term, questions have become raised on future financial stability, leading to the need for future clean energy sources as well as planning financial incentives to shift the profits away from oil.

To them however, the most surprising sight was the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact. It brought with it the hope of German reunification along with a greater sense of European unity with it. At the same time, there was also concern on handling some of the political problems. There was also an increasing sense of dread regarding Yugoslavia as it was looking more and more that it would not survive the decade and discussions were being held on what may need to happen there.


Europe (Former Warsaw Pact)
The late 1980s would see the end of the Warsaw Pact. One by one, each of the nations would begin having massive protests and quiet revolutions that would see the ousting of the various communist governments over in charge of their nations for the past few decades or so. From the Solidarity movement in Poland, to the Velvet Revolution of Czecholslovakia, to the Singing Revolution in the Baltics and many other nations beginning to break away from the Warsaw Pact. However, despite this, many of the red parties remained and Poland was even noting some of the mixed economy elements that was being kept in by the Soviets due to the reforms. The peaceful revolutions that came about in the late 1980s were a rejection not necessarily of communism (least as a whole), but more of the hegemony imposed on them by the Soviet Union, being its unwilling satellite states. Despite this, the nations were gradually rejoining the outside world, what with Poland reconnecting over with Pope once more and the economic outreach going on with everyone once more. As more and more of the nations were going their way, talks were being held and discussions planned moving forward. Some wondered if any of these nation would join up with the EEC in the future. Others wondered if insteat they would go and make their own group of sorts or just stay by themselves. Of course, not everything was rosy, given the growing concerns over in Yugoslavia after all, especially with some of the growing ethnic tensions caused by certain leaders.

The Soviet Union meanwhile would enter a period of change under Mikhail Gorbachev. Concerned by the stagnating economy, he begin looking into try make some potential reforms within the nation and was able to focus on doing so thanks to the peace of the time. Gorbachev and American President Udall spoke well of one another and provided more hope in terms of long-term peace and prosperity for them, no longer burdened by the doom and gloom of nuclear destruction. While initally considering more opening up the nation, Gorbachev instead looked to the past and would introduce a modernized form of the New Economic Plan. Combined with some other ideas, the hope was to help settle and stimulate the economy, something that would be made easier over with the greater peace with the Americans. Their sluggish technological industry would get the jumpstart needed as part of various knowledge exchange programs, the GNU Project was asked by the United States to provide the Soviets assistance with their software and the like, mainly due to the open-source nature and philosophy of it. This was agreed if the Soviets in turn adhered to said philosophy though it would not stop anyone from building on it and using it as the inspiration or basics to make their own, much like how NeXTSTEP is a proprietary Unix-like system. The Soviets accepted this in turn of some other deals with the Americans and began helping the economy up, especially with some new investment being put in to some new nuclear power stations as a result of the climate change revelations, with another goal being to deal with the shrinking Aral Sea as a result of their plans from the 1960s. Beyond the cautiously growing success of their economic reforms, the Gorbachev regime also began trying to do some political reforms, but began butting heads with the hardliners and some were seeing this as a sort of "make or break" movement for the Soviet Union.

 

[CountDVB]

Political Retrospection: 1985 - 1989 Part 3​

The Middle East
The Iran-Iraq War would end in the Summer of 1985, with Iran triumphant over its rival. Saddam Hussein would be killed in the Invasion of Baghdad with many of the other leaders still escaping along with their men, heading to undetermined destinations while a few would go and bend the knee over to the Iranian victors. Iran would proceed to create a Kurdish homeland from Iraq while forcing an administration of in Iraq and holding some new elections, with most of the Baathists having now gone. After some admittngly tense elections, a new stable government was held along with one in the new Kurdistan and Iran happily flexed its new power and prestige, all while happily enjoying the fruits of its labor and growing economy. However, this would put them in conflict with other nations, mainly Turkey. The creation of a Kurdistan reinvigorated the Kurds in Turkey, which concerned the Turkish government. This alongside the rise of another regional power made conflict almost an inevitability. Iran has also begun increasing ties to the Americans, to where assistance with nuclear power estasblishment would be outlined and planned by near the end of the decade. Some more positive news came with the 1987 Peres-Hussein Solution. The West Bank, having been occupied by Israel would see it being annexed by Jordan. Specifcially, while Israel would keep the Hebron region, Jordan would annex the rest of the West Bank and thus all the would-be Palestinians would become Jordanian citizens, virtually killing off the dream of the PLO and of Palestine. While questions about Gaza and Jerusalem remained, future plans have been established to peacefully deal with the situation though already local leaders of Gaza have begun talks with the Israel government while others would accept immigrate, most notably to the United States.

Saudi Arabia meanwhile would start declining due to the concerns of climate change and jeopardizing the future of oil, to where there have been growing protests or insurgency movements over in the nation, some being reactionaries who wish to see a total cut from the West. The Baathist forces that fled Iraq would also begin causing trouble over in the Arabian peninsula, especially throught touting the end of "Islamism" as a movement, with some believing tensions will worsen over time as the Baathists exploit some political troubles. This became much more prominent with Pakistan's brutal defeat in the Afghan-Pakistani War. Afghanistan with its ally in India would proceed to war against Pakistan for the latter's backing insurgent groups in Afghanistan. They were also the ones who exposed Pakistan's nucler program, leading to sanctions starting in 1983 and leading to the Zia-ul-Haq regime doubling down on its quasi-theocratic principles, much to the trouble of many. Eventually, war would break out and it would putan end to the Zia-ul-Haq administration along wth many of Pakistan's provinces seceding and being annexed or becoming their own nations for the time being. Afghanistan would gain the Pashtun regions of Pakistan along with Baluchistan joining them as an autonomous territory. Getting everything they wanted, Afghanistan has now been focusing on consolidating their holds along with maintaining modernization through contacts with the USSR and US though concerns remainined over the minority groups. Pakistan meanwhile is now on life support as more of the governing folk have left and only remains as the Punjab. While some have immgirated to the United States, most of the people lie in need of American aid, dealing with being a quasi-pariah state and even many wrestling with their faith given how it would be associated with the Zia-ul-Haq regime.

Asia
India meanwhile would continue to tumble over in the latter 1980s. The Punjab has become a growing spot of conflict as the Sikhs continue to protest against the mistreatment they felt against the Indian government and the rise of the Khalistan movement. India's initial assumption that the sanctions on Pakistan would kill the movement would backfire as Operation Blue Star still occured. Instead, it just forced the movement to become more focused domestically and grow their home support. The lackluster Rajiv–Longowal Accords also contributed to the growth of the movement. Other groups were also displaying their growing frustration and India's troubled economy was not heping matters. Despite this, Rajiv would manage to win reelection by exploiting the victory over Pakistan, their former rival and enemy. However, now that Pakistan was gone, the political situation would now be forced inwardly and the political elite could no longer try to deflect their problems onto an outside force. When the Khalistan movement attempted to use the victory to tout the Sikhs' importance to the war effort and thus to promote greater autonomu, they would be unsurprisingly snubbed and many saw this as just increasing tensions and disillusionment further still.

Corazon Aquino would become the Philippines' new president after years of autocratic rule and would lead the path to the Philippines' gradual recovery while dealing with coup attempts and economy recovery. Japan meanwhile would continue to prosper and really shine over on the world stage, while also becoming a major contributor to the discussion of nuclear power, especially with the development of the first Gen III reactor and thus hoping for more projects as a result from it. Concerns have arisen over regarding potential economic bubbles or slowdowns however. South Korea meanwhile maintains its gradual economic recovery while North Korea has been noticing the troubles over in the Soviet Union along with the political turmoils in China and has begun questioning if the system could remain, thus starting some talks over with their neighbor for the idea of peace if not more. China would meanwhile deal with a tense standoff of ideals over with the Protests of Tiananmen Square, the result of the growing demands for democracy over in China. It would also prove to be a pivotal moment over for Zhao Ziyang, who managed to get the protestors to leave while showing support of their endeavors and to focus over at home. At the same time, it would also be a moment for Premier Li Peng, who's attempts at escalation along with his stance against the reformation attempts of paramount leader Deng Xiaoping would lead to Peng's decline as Xiaoping would begin working to either force Peng to retire while ousting his supporters from the party. The CCP is also keeping an eye on their Russian neighbor with their political trouble as it was becoming clear that they too would need to change in some form in order to survive.

Africa
The continent of Africa continued to try and move forward from the daunting past of colonial exploitation, but it remained a difficult and long affair. Despite that, there was still positive news to try and celeberate. South Africa has been facing more and more scrutiny and pressure to end apartheid, especially with nations like the United States and others getting involved. Attempts at a snap election have failed though F. W. de Klerk would still become president and would begin plans over to accelerate the end of the apartheid system, which many expect would be seen in next couple years. Meanwhile, over in Ethiopia, the Derg would transition over to creating the so-called People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. However, many of the problems would continue to remain in the region and the Soviet Union was becoming less and less able to provide assistance to the nation, especially with problems of its own. This along with the intense reliance on outside aid was leaving many questions over regarding the potential future of Ethiopia, especially with the growing resistance movements over in the nation. Some have even speculated if this would mean the rise of a true democracy or perhaps a restoration of the monarchy over in Ethiopia.

Egypt meanwhile continued its reforms and stances under Hosni Mubarak, who would continue to give support to the peace talks regarding Israel as well as help lend support for the Peres-Hussein Solution. Morocco meanwhile continues its tensions over with the so-called Western Sahara and their desire for independence there. Another war of independence going on was in Eritrea fighting against the Ethiopian forces with the Battle of Afabet beign a very notable battle there. Algeria undewent large social unrest as their dependence on oil proved to be a problem with the econimic problems of the time combined with the climate change revelation screwing up the petrol prices. Additionally, the fall of Islamism would see troubles for the growing "Arabization" programs in the area. Libya would also become affected by these sort of petrol troubles, especially forcing problems onto their leader Gaddafi, though also balanced by growing relations with the Americans. Additionally, he would also begin shifting from pan-Arabism to pan-Africanism, likely influenced by things like the Peres-Hussein Solution and the growing turmoil. Rwanda meanwhile was getting the concern of people due to the growing instability there. All the while, African nations were finding that their potential relationship with Africa may be compromised by the USSR's decline along with other issues and lack of spport.

 

[CountDVB]

Decade Reflection: The 1980s- Part 1​

Politics
The 1980s would prove to be a prominent turning point for global politics. In an inceasingly interconnected world, global political trends were influenced by the superpowers and the situations that affected them. For the "first world", this came in the form of the Udall administration with the United States of America. Elected in part from a backlash against neoconservative politics and their values, the successes of the Udall administration would reintroduce and reinforce the predominance of progressive politicians over in the United States. From the creation of the National Bureau of Healthcare to the introduction of "return-free filing" to the greater increases in infrastructure and education and so much more, Americans' perspective on government would shift. They viewed the government as having the duty to take care of its citizens and rejecting the "small government" talk associated with Reagan and his followers. This was noted as early as in Udall's campaign; Udall mentioned how Reagan believed that "Government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem" before explaining that the American government is the "government of the people, by the people, for the people", pointing ot the hypocrisy. As such, much of the draw of Udall's policies came not just from the genuine interest and support that people had, but also as a spiteful condemnation of what the neoconservatives stood for. The fact that these progressive policies brought stability and prosperity to the nation would just reinforce this notion. Unsurprisingly, the sudden shift that happened in the United States, the premier superpower of the "first world" and the west, providing fascinating contrasts of political philosophies that Europe and even Latin America would take note.

Leftists across the world felt vindicated and inspired, especially as the post-World War II generation was coming of adulthood and becoming parents while the children of the 60s and 70s were becoming adults, fresh with fire and spirit. With the condemnation of neoconservatism also came the deescalation of the so-called war on communism that was used to justify interventions in foreign nations. With the US becoming much more selective on foreign affairs, due to the failure of the Panama Crisis, the leftist organizations of Latin America made their move and began asserting themselves, to reclaim the government for the people. At the same time, they would also have to grapple with actual rulership, especially in a changing world. Europe meanwhile would also take note of this, especially the British. Austerity measures became less favorable as policy and the politics became focused on international affairs along with the need to control and curb the excesses of big business. This would become especially prominent with the prioritized importantce of climate change and human influence on it. While environmentalism was a bit politicized to varying degrees, the revelation of fossil fuel industries colluding to hide the truth of the impact out of concern for money and thus putting profit over people changed the game a bit and served as a powerful boost of energy for rising Green parties across the world, especially in dealing with buisnesses. At the same time, the growing need of political representation was being demanded. For places lik the US, this came in reforms that expanded the House of Rep, removed gerrymandering and other reforms for easier voting. American conservatism would reach a massive crisis point, namely in a loss of identity. How would the modern America conservative be like or base their values? The promised champion of Reagan turned out to be nothing but a dead-end, especially as people moved on and realized it was little more than a nostalgia-tinted reflection of the values of the 1950s, which was looking more out of place over time. However, since they had the most eggs in their basket and a lot riding on it, including private arms folk, the peoples' loss of faith in it hurt it alot. Worse still was the reflection; beyond the follies of Reagan, there was the lackluter Ford and then the infamous Nixon. "Was the last good GOP presdent Eisenhower?" was the question in many peoples' heads. While the so-called Rockefellar Republicans began retaking power from their more radical colleagues, the concerns of feasibility remained, especially with a lack of real leadership for how a modern conservative could look like, much less a driving philosophy for it.

However, more radical examples would be viewed in the "second world" of the Soviet Union, Communist China and beyond. The Warsaw Pact would unravel in the last years of the 1980s. The people of the constinuent nations pushed further and further back of the autocratic tendencies of their governments, which were backed by the might fo the Soviet Union. They kept pushing until the various parties gave in or were overwhelmed, setting up a domino effect for the Warsaw Pact to begin disintegrating and their members began leaving. Many observed that it was this political suffocation that led to the domino effect rather than any economic problems, especially since many nation, including Poland, would adopt some of the market socialist reforms or mixed economy ideas from the USSR. The Soviet Union itself would begin facing this problem, stemming from the cultural hegemony of the Russians in the Baltics or the feeling of a lack of real autonomy there. The potential end of the Soviet Union has become quite a talking point for international politics. Communist China meanwhile has been seeing the hardliners and reformers grow at increasing odds with one another over in the 1980s, namely with the latter's successes and the former's concern on adherence to it. However, the Tiananmen Square Standoff really pushed tensions as the Premier went behind the back of the General Secretary and the "paramount leader" to handle the protests violently, which fortunately were averted at the last moment. However, it did signal the massive divisions with the party, something that would gather the attention of the minor political parties within China. Overall, the trend with politics in the 1980s was one toward greater democratization and representation, balancing the greater need for governments to care for their people, dealing with global problems and handling multinational companies. Overall, many saw this as the birth of a new global progressive era of politics and one that would likely continue over in the 1990s.


Economy
The 1980s would, economically, be a period of recovery and even the beginning of prosperity. At the same time, it also held prominent rammifications for many economic theories. The economic practice of austerity would be cracked in the face of its failures over during the Reagan administration of the late 1970s. Contrasting with this was the return to Keynesian economics, albeit modified, over in the 1980s and other practices. The successes of economic recovery as a result of the Udall administration providing direct financial support over to the people warmed people to the notion of this and showed the success of welfare along with renewed interest in a few more radical ideas. It served as a reminder that it was the spending habits of the common person that drove the economy rather than the arcane behavior of stock prices. While the economy was still growing quite nicely, regulations returned and were reintroduced to ensure equality while also to curb potential unsavory business practices for short term financial gain. The Exxon case over in the United States also damaged public perception in trusting large companies. The revelation that fossil fuel companies were conspiring to push a disinformation campaign, downplaying and obscuring the hazards of fossil fuel usage, just to keep maintaining profits, was a pivotal moment in American history and that was a shockwave that swept the world. With corporations as a whole, they became more distrusted and that fed into the progressive movement of clamping down on the excesses of big business. However, the rammifications would be much more impactful.

The revelation of fossil fuels along with the struggles of the American car market (which would be blamed on management) would lead to the rise of Japanese cars in popularity for their fuel efficiency. However, on a much larger scale, it would lead to the push for the return of public transporation and their increase in investment there. This was part of a movement over ecological infrastructure renewal, planning cities and towns to be more environmentally friendly. People would get discounts for new ecofriendly homes while the trends for earth homes grew. Housing with various energy efficiency practices and other ways to help with environment started to grow. In fact, this would lead to a political reform in the introduction of land value taxes on a national level, shifting away from property taxes bit by bit. Single unit houses remained dominant, but other style of homes like side-by-sides and so on were catching on in popularity, especially for those linked for communities. With the economy recovering from the depression of the late 1970s, it was viewed as a time of prosperity and people would keep the gears of the economy spinning. However, buying habits had changed a bit, influenced by the frugal spending habits developed during the tough economic conditions of the latter decade. People were being more selective on what to buy, forgoing anything viewed not as necessary to do so. People were not as interesting as buying stuff they didn't need. However, the growing sense of community meant money still circulated, via through donations to public spaces such as the library. Additionally, the growing rise of computers and new technology proved fascinating enough for people to spend money on, especially as it was becoming evidently clear that computers would be a big part of the future. However, beyond the growing interesting in these devices, the return of economic prosperity brought with it two major buying changes: experiences and quality. The former would be seen in people wanting to pay for experiences such as films or amusement parks or any leisure activites, though this could be extended to hobbies, including gaming. Other aspects could be in returning to school, especially as it was becoming much more economically feasible for young people to go trade school or medical school, thanks to heavy financial support form the government. The latter meanwhile reflected a more fascinating phenomena.

The genie was out of the bottle there with fossil fuels, but just how widespread the rammifications were grew more and more. Since the temporary gutpunch international trade took when the Panana Canal was weakened, it exposed some of the weaknesses of international trading. This fueled the for supply chains to be focused more domestically. For Americans, it was buying more American-grown products, especially since they possessed the financial means to do so. Additionally, this also meant supporting local businesses more, which many also associated was the result of the growing distrust of major corporations. While places like Sears and K-Mart weren't too badly effected, Wal-Mart would take a more noticeable stumble. Not to mention many restaurants and so on having to adjust to these issues. This also started a trend within certain towns and communities for communal gardens or even potential local farms, a practice some have speculated may grow more commonplace, especially if viewed as part of the growing factor of leisure time people were investing their money in. Europe would also be affected by this American-observed phenomena though ina different way; namely it would begin pushing toward a greater sense of cooperation between one another for the sake of these benefits, especially when it came to keeping grocery stores stocked. The decline of the Warsaw Pact also provided new economic opportunities with the new nations, especially in expanding the European economic trade bloc to do so. Meanwhile, the Soviet Union and Communist China changed up their nations through market socialist like reforms, focused on a modernized version of Lenin's NEP, something that even the former Warsaw Pact nation borrowed, along with various other ideas. This allievated much of the economic ill of the nation and promoted the idea of a mixed economy being the ideal blend though many speculated that the rise of the computer industry and especially the software area may mean that more... esoteric ideas based on science fiction may start becoming possibilities, especially with the rise of automation in factories leading to a need to shift to the service industry and information businesses. Predictions weren't much on the future, but the sharp businessmen did learn one major economic lesson: long-term security was the key. Rather than the massive short-term gains that some prescribed, many instead embraced long-term growth, especially with the new regulations and to be cautiously optimistic with the new tech. Those would find ways to adapt would do well.

 

[CountDVB]

Decade Reflection: The 1980s- Part 2​

Technology
The 1980s would see the true beginning over of the age of the computer. As they were becoming more available for the common man, they were also becoming more and more powerful with the new models and people were intrigued to see what would come of it. Microsoft was becoming more prominent as it kept working on its operating systems. NeXT would be born from Job after he would be kicked out of Apple. The GNU Project would lead to a rise of independent programmers and open source ideals. These ideals would be prominent as the Free Software Foundation would find itself requested by the US government to assist in information sharing programs betwee various nations, which the FSF was happy to do so under that said nations followed on the open source ideals. This would finally begin software development earnestly in the Soviet Union along with the FSF gaining traction with their software in China and parts of Latin America. Meanwhile, another similar leap was in the field of video games. While arcades continued to be dominant, especially as a hobby, video game consoles would return in prominence thanks to the Nintendo Entertainment System. Blowing competition out of the water, it renewed faith in the idea. The next major step came with the GamePal, a handheld video game console that could be played on the go. At the same time, video games over on computers were also becoming a fascinating prospect for technology to pursue. While still viewed as a hobby, making games would gradually appeal to more and more young people as a way to make money of artistic merit, especially with the likely evolution of the medium and what could be done with it on an interactive levell.

On a more grander scale, renewable energy has become another massive venue in interest, primarily nuclear power. The urgency emphasized to switch from fossil fuels over to renewable energy would revive nuclear power out of their period of stagnancy and back into prominence. While activists against nuclear power displayed their concern and tried championing solar or wind, further debates showed the current limitations of solar and wind at the time. Additionally, new concerns would be raised on the maintanance and recycling of the parts used for solar and wind power. It was such an unexpected provokation that it lead to renewed interest in solar and wind from a conceptual level, if at the cost of having to give the current limelight over to nuclear power. At the same time, other venues were still being explored for more practical applications such as geothermal and the usage of major water movements such as tidal; no possibility was left off the table in exploring what could be done for it. Additionally, the international efforts for efficiency and safety in nuclear development have been baring fruit with the upcoming Gen III models, which will be implemented over likely during the next decade, with active development and research further optimizing the output. While nuclear power was focusing on coal, petrol and natural gas remained more complicated. The latter did have some hope in the form of biogas, especially biomethane made from waste material, but petroleum remained a difficult task. The concern on the viability of the internal combustion engine in this matter along with other issues was likely began the decline of personal automobile usage, a trend that was likely to continue into the next decade. While those living in rural communities will maintain a need for it along with certain vehicles, for urban and even suburban usage, they were being heavily reconsidered on an individual level and on an infrastructural level. Reinforcing this is new policy had focus on public transportation, especially with the massive expansion of Amtrak into a national rail network and the ongoing electrification project. While some showed skepticism, others pointed Conrail made money for the US government and growing it wouldn't be bad, it was even viewed as part of US duty. Others viewed it as a chance to reduce plane usage, especially given the lackluster nature of fuel efficiency. As such, renewable energy and its various peripherals were also the next new wild west over to explore.

It's unsure what the future holds for other new technology though software remains a big possibility and the growing internet may provide future opportunities for many people. However, future innovations come to solve upcoming problems faced. While renewable energy is a major factor, it is not the only one regarding environmentalism, especially as more and more researchers and experts are widening their scale and looking at the interlinking phases and contributions, such as in construction and the like. One example was on how with the United States clamping down on most disposable plastics and similar materials because of environmental impact and lack of practicality and recyclability, substitutes needed to be found for items that could not be replaced 1 to 1, such as with styrofoam and the like.

Culture
From the rise of pop music to the birth of MTV. To the fantasy action hero fics to the comedies. For many people, the 1980s were viewed as quite a revolutionary time over for pop cultue as well as society. Pop music and pop rock dominated the airwave with alot of hits coming out. Devices like the Walkman and other technologies meant young people could take their music anywhere to listen to. Films became more grandiose and spectacular to watch, especially serving as fantastic escapism from the problems of the real world. At the same time, they also served as mirrors over for the changing times. The focus often on these sort of stories was on rebellion and disassociation of the youth. For the brightbanger generation, born from early 1960s to late 1970s, they grew up during the tougher times of American and many becoming young adults over in the 1980s, getting involved in the protests and civil rights movements at the time. Fueled by frustration of their time in the 1970s and a desire for change, they become the subject for many a speculative adult of the time. This would also be seen in the changes to other mediums. Comic books, mainly those of superhero, would continue the traditions established by the Bronze Age of Comic Books, but the massive wave of social reform, political reform and economic reform would lead to the need to heavily revamp many of the heroes and settings to fit in, starting the Brass Age, named for its similarity to the Bronze Age, yet more beautiful and polished, showing the lessons learned and serving as sort of new Golden Age as many of the characters would be starting off more or less from scratch. Another past time and hobby that would develop would be tabletop gaming, especially Dungeons & Dragons, which credit the collaborations TSR made with Dark Crystal and My Little Pony to popularize it with a familiar setting and establish a simplified rules format. Not to mention the rise in things like video games and more traditional hobbies, shaped by the frugal behavior of the years prior, a pattern which led to the increased visitations to libraries and public parks, patterns that maintained themselves during the 1980s.

Beyond the pop culture sphere though, greater societal trends were happening. After the economic failures of the Reagan administration, many of the general public turned against its associated values and ideals. This stigma and resentment grew in reflection of the previous Republican presidents, which shared similar ideals, even if not to the same extremes. This created a backlash to the rising neoconservative movement of the 1970s, itself a reaction to the 1960s. This backlash would collaborate hand in hand with the successes of the Udall administration regarding their political and economic policies. The massive trust and positivity associated with Udall, Askew and their branch of Democrats meant that many more people were willing to take a chance on the societal progressive ideals. Coincidentally, the backlash to neoconservatism and the opportunity to make reforms would lead to the rise of two prominent societal movements that nonetheless went hand in hand: the SATMIN+ Civil Rights movement and the third wave of feminism. The former would be catalyzed by the HIV epidemic that would be especially prominent among the SATMIN+ coummunity and would shine a spotlight on their issues and troubles. Additionally, other factors had unexpected and fascinating side effects; the creation of the American unviersal single payer healthcare system would lead to a growing number of intersex people learning of their condition and banding together to reassert themselves and identity. The revelation of these people that defined the gender binary in turn would grant more understanding ground for the trans community. The Udall administration, especially Askew, would become more sympathetic and provide aid for the movement to try and achieve their goals, primarily in equal rights in various aspects and protection from discrimination. At the same time, this also catalyzed a new wave of thinking within the SATMIN+ community, especially among the youth and the minority groups there. Inspired by the success and the changing of the times, they looked inwardly and began tackling many of the stereotypes and forcing some introspection, most notably seen with the "queersploitation" film & television craze that began in the late 1980s and would likely continue into the early 1990s.

The other movement would be the third wave of feminism. Here, a combination of factors led to its rise: the issues with the Equal Rights Amendment and attempted sabotage of it, the sex wars within second wave feminism and even the SATMIN+ civil rights movements. Third wave feminism worked to differeniate itself from the second wave by addressing much of its problems, such as its sex negative association, stigma of transwoman and other elements that predated to the first wave, such as minority women getting the short end of the stick. In fact, many minority women who had their roles underappreciated or not seen back in second wave had their great second chace with third wave, their relative anonymity actually benefitting here while still being able to provide wisdom and experience to the fresh blood of the youngest of boomers and the oldest of bright bangers here. With the success of the modernized ERA put into place, they became invigorated to go deeper and handle the more subtangible problems. Misgynonistc and chauvinsitic behavior over in various areas such as work or in the various legal places. One particular and growing ugly battle was in various parts over in the entertainment industry. From rather questionable decisions and portrayals in various films and television shows to uncomfortable and bullying behavor behind the scenes to even the most flat out taboo topics such as the infamous casting couch, alot of these subject became tackled and exposed to a public who were quite surprised and became none too happy about this. Various companies were forced to confront these decisions, with some doing a better job than others in going to the root of the problem rather than try and cover it up. Other instances would eb the demand for greater scrutiny against seemingly powerful men and for responsability to be held against them. From the allegations against Bill Cosby in the past to the accusations of rape toward Donald Trump by his wife at the time (on top of his previous other issues), suspicious behaviors were targeted and a demand for accountability was growing. Hollywood would struggle with this over in the late 1980s and likely coming into the new decade, which some see as a potential opportunity down the line. Ultimately, the time of the 1980s was one of societal change, fueled by a backlash against romanticization of the old and a desire for the new, with these fertile elements likely to shape the early half of the 1990s.

 

[CountDVB]

Winter 1990- Bold New Decade

Flag of the International City of Jerusalem​

The 1990s have arrived. Political change saturated the atmosphere and the flames of revolution and progress enveloped more parts of the world in different ways. The Singing Revolution was ongoing with a 300,000 strong protest over in Lithuania. The members who left the Warsaw Pact like Poland were transitioning their economies into resembling more of a mixed economy with market socialist elements to variety of degrees. The National Assembly of Bulgaria votes to end one party rule by the Bulgarian Communist Party. And even the League of Communists of Yugoslavia votes to dissolve, though unlike the other news, this one was viewed with more concern over by their neighbors, especially with the news of increasing conflicts going around the area. However, not all of these conflicts were as pacifisitc. The Baku pogrom was unfortunatel on going, with most of the remaining 50,000 Armenians are driven out of Baku in the Azerbaijan SSR. The pogrom was part of the infamous Nagorno-Karabakh War that was still ongoing between the Armenians and Azerbaijani. As a response to this along with the other dissent, Soviet troops would occupy Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, under the state of emergency decree issued by Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev. The Soviet forces would kill over 130 protesters who were demonstrating for independence. In response to this, the Nakhichevan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic declares its independence from the USSR, becoming the first region of the USSR to do such a thing and many expected that it may not be the last. The Soviets' neighbors over in the area watched the entire ordeal with great interest. Turkey was one such figure that showed plenty of interest as they were one of the nations who provided arms and aid over to the Azerbaijani during the war against the Armenians. [1]

However, despite the increasing tensions coming from the rapid developments at the beginnng of the decade, there was still plenty reasons to celeberate. Under intense impressure, South Africa would finally cave in to certain demands, resulting in the African National Congress being unbanned over in South Africa and weeks later, the release of Nelson Mandela from prison. What made this more notable was the upcoming elections decided over in 1992. While rumors of snap elections were being discussed, the situation did not favor it and many saw it as the beginning of the end over for apartheid over in South Africa. Meanwhile, NATO & the Warsaw Pact would go over into Ottawa for discussions on reducing military expeditures and presence, with the dawning on people that it really was the upcoming end of the Cold War. Especially that just prior to the Ottawa meeting, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union votes to end its monopoly of power, clearing the way for multiparty elections. More changing news came in the revelations regarding Germany, namely a plan that would see East Germany be reunited over with West Germany into one unified nation.[1]This along with the oncoming end of the Warsaw Pact provided a massive opportunity for economic development and possibilities. One of those companies would surprisingly enough be none other than Disney itself, likely to try and spread their influence. One particular rumor was possibily reviving the idea of the "EuroDisney" project after problems over in France deterred it. As such, they tried switching a bit in their tactics while looking over who to make arrangements with.

Perhaps the big news of all was the "Jerusalem and Gaza Agreement" between Israel and various other Islamic nations along with several other notable individuals, including the Pope himself. The question remained over on how to deal with Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. The latter was surprisingly easier to deal with; with the West Bank absorbed over by Jordan, the idea of the Palestinian nation-state was pretty much gone and thus people could focus on different deals to make. Eventually, the people of the Gaza Strip would vote and after some talks over with the Israel government, they would become part of Israel, albeit as an autonomous district, having its own special local rights and privilages protected to them. However, they would still be involved in Israel politics. And thus, the Autonomous District of Gaza was born, functioning as a mahozt like the six other mehozot or districts of Israel, including the recently added Hebron district. Jerusalem meanwhile was a harder nut to crack, but thanks to influence from the Pope and the rest of the Catholic Chuch, along with various European powers and the like, it would be decided that Jerusalem would become an international city. A city-state that would be of the world and would be supervised by the United Nations, with Israel & Jordan assisting to contribute to the defensive forces. While the logistics would unsuprisingly prove to be complicated, especially to ensure minimal bias in local governance, economic rules and the like, the support and pressure brought in by alot of people was enough to push through. People were yearning for a peaceful resolution and this would be it here. By the end of the year or so, the International City of Jerusalem would be established, the cultivation of luck and hard work, years in the making.

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[1]- Information and phrasing from here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1990

 

[CountDVB]

Spring 1990- Baltics Breaking Out


Steve Jackson Games logo​

The oncoming of Spring seemed to really signify well how relationships between the various powers in the world were coming. A period of unthawing tensions and the embracement of a new era, a warmer time. The United States and Soviet Union would The efforts of the "Jerusalem-Gaza Agreement" seemed to finally put to rest the issues of the Holy Land for the most part. While various extremist groups on both ends were very unhappy with the events and would likely try and instigate violence, the general public was relieved and looking forward to a new tomorrow while politicians and security worked to ensure peace and stabiltiy while preparing for sabotage or attacks from said fringe groups. Soviet soldiers begin leaving the various former Warsaw Pact nations such as Hungary, Romania, Czechoslovakia and even East Germany would be having its first free elections. After several weeks, a coalition would be established with the Prime Minister pushing forward for reunification, with plans establihed that the two Germanies would merge economies and currency over in the summer. This would also spur further investment plans over into East Germany in particular by some outside problems, including the United States. Additionally, some have wondered of the possibility of a reunited Korea though concerns laid over the starker differences and even more prominent effort needed. Presidenr Askew would plan talks with China on the matter, noting that despite North Korea's Juche policy, China still had prominent sway and influence. [1]

However, not everything was hunky-dory. The tension from some of the constinuent nations of the USSR was being released by the people rejecting the rule of Moscow and go to become independent nations once more. Over with the glorious Singing Revolution, the Baltic nations were becoming stronger and more defiant of Moscow's rule. The Lithuanian SSR would declare independence from the Soviet Union with the "Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania", and weeks later, the USSR would declare this act to be invalid. They could not stop the ball rolling however as the Estonian SSR would have their first free elections in the middle of March and would declare that the Soviet rule to have been illegal since 1940. As such, a transition over to full independence would be the next logical step. In May, the Latvians would follow suit and declare their independence from the Soviet Union. Furthermore, the Estonians begin restoring much of their original emblems and even stop some pro-Soviet groups from attempting to take power. Over, the Singing Revolution continues to keep going and plans are being made by the Nordic powers on opening relations over with them. [1]

Beyond that, other events occur of somewhat oddity. A Secret Service raid over on Steve Jackson Games proves to be a bit of an embarassing moment over for said Secret Service. As would be revealed, the Secret Service believed that Blankenship had illegally accessed Bell South systems (as Bell had been the one to report a concern) and uploaded a document possibly affecting 9-1-1 systems onto Steve Jackson Games's public bulletin board system and, furthermore, that GURPS Cyberpunk would help others commit computer crimes. In response, SJGames would successfully sue the Secret Service and the whole situation would have various rammifications. While Steve Jackson Games began organizing, the ordeal highlighted the lack of understanding regarding computers as well as would lead to the revelation of Operation Sundevil. [2] Meanwhile, still within the United States, the census is being taken once more, with many curious on the results, especially given how it would help shape further politics given the prior reforms over to the House as well as gerrymandering. Though this would not be the only fascinating bit of American politic going on right now.

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[1]- Information and phrasing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1990
[2]- Information and phrasing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Jackson_Games#Raid_by_the_Secret_Service

 

[CountDVB]

1990- A Third Party Rises?

United Citizens' Party Disc Logo (1990-2000) (made with this)​

With 1990 coming over in Spring, the midterms were coming up since the election of President Reubin Askew and Vice President Shirley Chisholm back in 1988. So far, Askew has maintained a strong presence and reputation, helping that he was the VP beforehand. His personal integrity and quest to apply that over to Washington was admired even by many on the political right and even with some controversy over in choosing Shirley Chisholm as his running mate (including a bit of concern if this may hurt his chances), he remained strong and used his weaknesses into strengths, all while Chisholm was a very active Vice President, often assisting in overseeing domestic affairs to give Askew some breathing room and also deal with the increase foreign affairs that needed to be taken care of. The Democrats remained pretty strong over in the elections, along with focusing on getting some new blood into the new party, especially with the rising Progressive wave. At the same time, they did begin leading to some friction over with some of the more centralist Democrats, especially some newer ones though for the most part, they still followed the party on the basic issues. The Republican Party meanwhile was finally beginning to get its act together with the liberal Republican faction managing to finally secure enough of a hold on the party to get the others to comply if barely. Despite this and actually having a decent line up for politicians, the lingering problems remained and actually grew bigger. One was reputation. After their losses and the issues prior to, there has been concern if the Republican Party was actually viable in this day and age, especially to the younger generation. The babyboomers and silent generation and lost their faith over in the GOP back in the 1970s. The brightbangers grew up in that time and generally seemed opposed to them and even the new generation, those born in the late 1970s to early 1990s, born in the Udall and Askew eras, would no doubt find them outdated, especially with the change of progress remaining in such an accelerated notion. However, the idea of a third party remained something of a pipe dream. Namely because of the "first past the post" electoral system within the US.

That was not gonna stop certian people however... and one of those was none other than Ross Perot.

Ross Perot was invovled with politics in various forms or fashions since the 1960s and he really didn't stop since. The 1980s had been a fascinating time for him though. While he did respect much of the Udall administration, he did have some concerns on business matters as well as believing Vietnam was still holding US prisoners of war. One commonality known was the support of term limits though Udall did not show much interest or at least priority. Askew seemed to show more interest though Perot remained concerned, especially with how much of the old guard remained in power. Additionally, other issues like national debt and balancing the budget remained in his mind even with the successes. On a more conceptional level, it was just how unbalanced the electoral system had become. Republicans had been gradually getting some wins, but were an unpopular shell of itself and while the Dems were growing strong, they were not being challenged. They had no real viable alternate. Perot remembered on how matters went down over with John B. Anderson, a prominent Republican turned independent who did quite well. This would give him an idea.

Weeks after Anderson lost, he would meet Perot, the latter wanting to discuss matters with him. It would evolve from from political strategies to the planning and creation of a brand new political party. With the financial backing of himself along with the support of a few interested politicians on both sides, a new political party would be born over on late 1989: The United Citizens Party*

Proposed as an alternate between the Democrats and Republicans, the UCP and their supporters, the "Unizens" would be attractive to liberal Republicans who felt their party was no longer good enough and to certain Democrats who feel their party has gone too much to the left for their tastes. While Anderson was not an official member, he did help provide aid and contacts to Perot. Instead, Anderson woud go and establish the organization FairVote, focusing ong athering support to advocate for electoral reforms. Despite a bit of trouble, some candidates were being drawn over to the United Citizens Party with Perot gathering a fait bit of interest all around. Some have speculated that Perot would be trying to go and gather support for a potential presidental run.

The other parties were not sure what to make of this. The Republicans believed that even with the troubles, they were not in any real danger though made of the more liberal Republicans and so on did eye the party with intrigue, especially since it had some of Anderson's influence on it. At the same time, the Democrats were intrigued, even if less threatened. President Askew did see it as a fascinating opportunity since he and Perot did share the desires for electoral reform and hopes that the party could assist in helping to deliver that.

Regardless, 1990 would see a third prominent option there for voters to notice... to become a Unizen instead of a Republican or Democrat.

*=TTL's verson of Reform Party. Still has purple as their color. Due to their symbol (stylized C and U) resembling a goat political cartoons would represent the party and the Unizens as goats, which they would embrace as their mascot.

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[CountDVB]

Summer 1990- Shakes & Quakes


Hyatt Terraces Baguio Hotel, after it collapsed during the 1990 Luzon earthquake.​

Summer was rolling out and as the heat was coming, so were the changes. American politics became abuzz more with the introduction of the United Citizens' Party and how well they may end up doing in the midterms. Even with most predictions being modest about the success of the UCP, the opportunity looked quite tantalizing, especially for voters who may have felt that their voices could be better represented over by the new party. Other positive news was the finalization of treaties to end chemical weapon production and to destory their current stockpiles and plans to a successor to the SALT talks. Speaking of international talks, the two Germanies would start finalizing their merger, starting off with the merging of their currencies and economies, along with plans to integrate politics and the like. Additionally, several nations like the United States have been looking into invest into the upcoming East Germany, even managing to get a tour of some locations over for some possibilities. Speculation abounds as to what it could be though many people are excited for what could be coming here. One company that was spotted of particular interest (outside of the usual suspects of restaurant franchises and retailers) was Disney itself, having been in talks with another unidentified company as of late. The Deutsche Mark would return over to East Germany and it was noted that by autumn of the year or so, East Germany and West Germany would become one unified Germany. [1]

Though over in the former second world, more changes were coming at an amazing speed. Mongolia would have its first multiparty election in its legislation. Another nation that made part of the Soviet Union would make its split, that being the Armenian SSR. More of Russia's neighbors in the area became more alert, especially since they suspected that this would leave to greater tensions with the Azerbaijani, especially if the latter decides to go over and secede. Turkey has become more supporting of the Azerbaijani in the war. This combined with Turkey's greater tensions against the Kurds of their nation has led to some experts believe that the region over in West Asia to become a greater hot spot for conflict, especially if Iran decides to get involved. Another action would be Belarus, though rather than secede from the Soviet Union, they would declare their sovereignty. This added further emphasis the desire for autonomy and began sending a clear message over to the Soviet leadership. Enough to where even the Russian leadership was planning some serious reorganization on legislation and exeuctive branches. Rumors speculated on the Soviet Union planning a major overhaul of their system or perhaps even becoming a new entity in its entirety. A bit of positive news was over on the Soviets with their computers, with the RELCOM computer network coming up along and later connecting to the greater Internet, showing a greater potential of global unity. [1]

However, speaking of Iran, the nation would deal with a massive earthquake, hitting mainly the cities of Manjil and Rudbar. With 35,000 - 45,000 killed, even more people injured and hundreds of thousands displaced, it would see various nations provide aid however they can for the injured and displaced along with potential assistance over in rebuilding the structures, given the $8 billion of damage. [2] Another even more potent earthquake would be seen over in the Philippines, striking the island of Luzon primarily. Like with Iran, various nations and organizations came together to provide aid, fueling this sense of camaraderie and support for one another, especiall in these difficult times. It also served to help reinforce ties over with the Philippines and the Americans. [3] As the nations were recovering and people still rebuilding, eyes continued remain over in the Middle East. While the conversation for Jersualem and Gaza closed the chapter over the question of Palestine for good beyond the remnants of some forces, it's been reported that some of said forces have escaped the region, heading east. Additionally, intelligence reports have speculated a growing number forces over near Kuwait.

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[1]- Information and phrasing from here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1990
[2]- Information and phrasing from here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1990_Manjil–Rudbar_earthquake
[3]- Information and phrasing from here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1990_Luzon_earthquake

 

[CountDVB]

1990- Return of the Baathists​

Background- Gas Glut?
The last few years have not been well over for the fossil fuel industry. The exposure over the impact of fossil fuel usage on the climate along with the attempts at suppressing that information to maintain profits have become a larger influence on global and domestic policy than most people expected. With the US having focused over to phasing it out by various means (expanding nuclear power, changing infrastructure to reduce petrol usage, etc), various other nations began doing the same. Coal was difficult though becoming more possible thanks to nuclear along with investigation into other power sources, including tidal and geothermal. Beyond energy generation, its usage in the production of steel was also being examined on viable alternatives. If nothing else, coal was looking the most likely to be phased out, though work remained, especially in less developed countries though the focus remained on the current using nations.

Petroleum and natural gas meanwhile were a little more complicated. Natural gas had a plentiful number of uses, numerous to where even if some of its current uses were eliminated, it could shift to other ones or perhaps take over some. Beyond domestic heating and power generation, it could be used as transportation fuel, ammonia and hydrogen production and various other aspects. As such, it could be shifted around and find new usage during the transition phase. In fact, various natural gas processing locations and operations began work on switch of focus to remain relevant, especially to possibly replace petroleum. Petroleum, while quite important over with its usage in fuels for global transportation and other uses such as in plastics, was also targeted to be phased out over time. While this would be a long time aways, the progress was still happening and it would be having rammifications on many nations.

For some nations, such as with Iran, it would be about expandng and diversifying the economy into many sectors while focusing on renewables and infrastructure. Growing ties with the Americans were helping here. However, for other nations, things were complicated. OPEC would be one of the biggest hit here as they now had to balance the seemingly impossible tightrope with balancing prices. What didn't help matters was how the oil price problems of the 1970s had forced people to earlier start facing these problems and recognize the need to transition from dependence of oil, with the Americans' case over in 1985 (around the same time the Saudis slashed the prices) cementing the necessity to accelerate the endeavors. Unsurprisingly, OPEC became quite nervous as the clock was now ticking. They would need to start shifting their economies away from heavy petrol export dependence. But that was easier said than done; many of them relied disproportionately on their oil and while they did not need to shut down on the spot, they would be facing an uphill battle to do so. Moreso, it would require massive amounts of investment and changes over how they did things... and many were unsure if they would actually be able to do so.

Baathists Reborn
The Baathists have lost their way since the 1960s, especially with Saddam and Assad creating their own subideologies from them and being based on themselves. However, what happens to such an ideology when the leader in the center of it all is gone? Iraq lost against Iran over in their war and Iran would help set up a new but still secular state over in Iraq. Not all of the army bowed their heads in defeat though, as numerous groups of them including some escaped commanders would flee south, seemingly disappearing over into outskirts and hide. All but unable to do anything but see the world change in front of them. Pakistan, the last prominent bastion of "Islamism" would collapse in their war against Afghanistan and India, their people having their faith in the idealogy practically broken and the nation on life support from the United States as and the Americans trying to find a good long term solution. Afghanistan manging to modernize more with the coordination of their two major parties and the growing smaller parties. Israel and Jordan successfully creating an agreement with most of the West Bank going to Jordan while Gaza becomes an autonomous state and Jerusalem an international city. All while the Middle East petrolstates have been rocked by the changing economic direction in accelerated rejection of fossil fuels.

As such, the remnant forces who escaped Iraq now had to face this new future and figure their place. Saddamism was cast now to the ground and destroyed and Assadism proved to be little more than loyalty to the ruling family over in Syria. "Where did things go wrong?" they asked themselves. However, as time went by, the forces began regrowing and rebuilding themselves. They would secure some attention from Afghanistan, discussing ideology, means and the way forward with the National Revolutionary Party and the PDPA. They were inspired and they began going back to basics with their ideals of a pan-Arab secular state. Additionally, they had to take account the new order of the world along with the current status. The Soviets were having to change themselves or fall apart as seen with the loss of their sphere while the Chinese have done the same and even the Americans began their change and dealing with problems. Meanwhile, Arabia remained divided between various states despite their commonalities and many of them under the control of sharifs and emirs under absolute monarchy, a situation that they viewed as a slight. As such, from the shadows, they began regrouping, preparing and regrowing. The Baathists would fight once more for their dream or die trying. And what better time since pan-Islamism would become all but discredited with its role in Pakistan's decline and defeat.

Beyond having gone back to basics, they learned from their mistakes and observed what has worked so far and what could be modified. Afghanistan was something of a good model as the NRP mellowed somewhat and worked decently with the PDPA. Even Turkey provided some influence there, even with the Turks' increasing unstabiltiy with the Kurds and the growing frustration of the Europeans and Americans in regards to that. And there were some opportunities for them to go and select. Yemen had just reunited and was on shaky ground. The end of the Islamist government in Pakistan sent shockwaves among those similar-minded over in Saudi Arabia, further stroking strife within the popualce against the House of Saud, already in trouble due to the concentration of wealth among the nobility, increasing the resentment and frustration among the people. Even with Islamism's downfall, this did not make the frustration go away and indeed, instead new outlets would be needed for the outrage of the people. It was a unique opportunity that the Baathists saw. However, they could not do anything as they were now... they would need a new base to establish themselves... and one nation got their interest... Qatar.

Situation in Qatar
Qatar was one of the minor nations in Arabia not absorbed by the House of Saud, over on a small peninsula in the Persian Gulf and next to the United Arab Emirates. Like their neighbors, they have become rich and powerful through their fossil fuel sources, that of petroleum and natural gas. They were also under an absolute monarchy that enforced sharia law over in the people of their nation, with everything they came with that. Qatar, like the various other nations, were becoming increasingly treated with scrutiny, primarily because of the human rights concerns regarding the treatment of the South Asian migrant workers. This investigation was part of a greater trend of reporters investigating more misdeeds and controversies all across the world, which began over in the late 1980s. Qatar also nearly underwent a coup in the 1980s when the Emir of the time Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani would choose his son, Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, to be his successor rather his brother, Suhaim bin Hamad Al Thani. Suhaim in response planned a coup over against his brother in 1985, having his own weapon cache and supporters in the north, though would die of a heart attack before he could put his plan into action. Some of Suhaim's sons meanwhile would be imprisoned some time after. This was due to their assassination attempt on Ghanim Al Kuwari, the Minister of Information and Culture, blaming Kuwari for not being prompt with medical attention. Ironically, one of Suhaim's sons would end up replacing Kuwari as Minister of Information and Culture in 1989, that being Hamad bin Suhaim Al Thani.

Meanwhile, Hamad had been leading the Supreme Planning Council, who's role was to establish Qatar's basic economic and social policies. Unsurprisingly, this role became alot more difficult due to the need to shift away from petroleum exporting in the long term. This in spite of the fact that the nation would need to rely on it for further growth and modernization efforts in the nation. Hamad's job was growing more frustrating since he was not the one in charge. This was adding some growing antagonism over with his father. Qatar was doing pretty well for most part, but there were cracks that could be exploited by potential groups. Not to mention that they were relatively small and could possibly be dealt with, if needing the help of the proper leadership or at least the symbol in order to do so.

And from near Kuwait, forces began heading south and east over to Qatar...

 

[CountDVB]

Autumn 1990- German Reunified

1990 Day of German Unity, with flags of German states at the Reichstag building in Berlin​

After weekof hard work and before that, the long decades, Germany was finally reunited. Back in September, the two German states along with the four occupying powers from back during WW2 would sign the Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany in Moscow. It was the final major step over toward German reunification. Over in early October, East Germany and West Germany finished their processes & were now one unified Germany once more, granting yet another symbol of the oncoming end of the Cold War. While many questions remained, such as the need for financial assistance over in the former East Germany along with adjustment for both sides regarding politics, it was still alot of good news. Indeed, the eastern part of Germany was being welcomed back into the fold with many coming in for various opportunities. [1] Perhaps the biggest surprising one was none other than the Walt Disney company. After scoping out some land and working some deals, it would be announced: the revival of the EuroDisney project. However, it would be a different approach. It would not be a hands-on direct project like they planned, but it also wouldn't be how Disneyland Tokyo was run by The Oriental Land Company. Here, Disney would co-operate the park with a very successful German company, Mack Rides. The idea of working with Mack Rides came from back during the original project planning, when the team visited Europa Park, a very successful theme park is in its own right. As such, when interest returned in a EuroDisney, they can back to this and would hammer out a deal. The site chosen would be over in East Germany. While places like near Berlin or within Bradenburg were considered, climate was also needing to be considered regarding warmth and the like. Ultimately, it would be near Möckern and Loburg that would become the sight for the new park, dubbed "Disneyland Europa", with the hope of helping to establish more work there. While the details were done and Mack Rides further scoping, they were also working more with Disney's European division and one major influence would be the European Disney comics over when coming up with the layout. Overall, with Germany now one, it was looking to be a wonderful way of ending the year.

But this was not the only major developments. Another would be the retirement of William Brennan, the oldest Supreme Court member of the time and thus giving the chance for President Reubin Askew to pick the next major candidate over for the Supreme Court. Askew's list was not too different than that from his predecessor and was looking through to see who would be able to do so. After a bit of a while of discussion, the new Supreme Court Justice would be announced: that being former Attorney General Stephen Gerald Breyer. It was noted that Breyer, while considering being Attorney General once more for the Askew administration, declined there, leading to believe that he was pursuing the chance to try and become a Supreme Court justice. It was a relatively easy process to go through the Senate. Others were wondering when the other elderly Justice, Thurgood Marshall, will resign and who President Askew would put in to take his place. Another bit of news coming over from the Askew Administration was reinforcing the 1960s' Clean Air Act, having done so to focus on urban pollution and other damaging emissions, which also included focusing even more on the emissions from various vehicles. Outside of the US, developments included Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to lessen Cold War tensions and reform the USSR. Over in South Africa, they begin ending segregation of libraries, trains, buses, toilets, swimming pools, and other public facilities. And perhaps in parallel to what has been happening, the Premier of North Korea would meet with the President of South Korea, leading to some hope of them also reuniting at some point in the future.[1]

However, despite the successes, there was a fair bit of trouble. The civil war in Sri Lanka would keep raging on. Meanwhile, the civil war in Lebanon would keep raging on over because of the Syrian occupation there. An all-out attack by Syria would be attempted though the Israeli air force would retaliate over in attacks. Despite rumors that they may not attempt to do so, Israel would get involved and Aoun would begin to receive even more support against the Syrian occupation though there was also talks on how to finally end the long civil war, especially given Syria's interest in the region and the sectarian violence over. Israel maintained a presence and was looking into discussions with its neighbors on potential solutions. including even talks with Jordan and Iran, the former that plans were being discussed also for a formal and official peace treaty between them. Africa would also see its own strife as Liberian president Samuel Doe would captured by the rebel leader Prince Johnson and killed in a filmed execution, showing worse troubles over for the Liberian Civil War. There was also the beginnings of the Rwandan Civil War, which would see the brutal conflicts regarding the Hutus and the Tutsis be brought about and raising concern over the need to get involved by the various nations, especially with the concern that matters would worsen over time. Overall, it would seem that the troubles would not be stopping and that the major powers would need to focus and keep an eye due to the growing concerns on how bad things could get. [1]

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[1]- Phrasing and information from here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1990

 

[CountDVB]

1990 Overview​

1990 heralded the beginning of a shift of the global dynamics as well as matters over domestically. With the Warsaw Pact all but gone, eyes now turned to the Soviet Union if it could survive all the way to the new millenium. While stronger than expected because of its reformed economy, the ethnic clashes from within threatened to caust it to start falling apart and influencing other nations. The Baltics all but left the nation and the Armenians and Azerbaijani were at one another's throats. The Soviets' neighbors kept watching the whole ordeal with interesting, wondering how to benefit. The Eastern European nations that left already the Warsaw Pact were being welcomed into the fold and the question over to accept them into the growing European Economic Community. Meanwhile in the Caucasus, the war between the Armenians and the Azerbaijani along with the tensions of the minorities within the Georgian SSR would be dragging the attention of others, starting with Turkey's growing support of the Azerbaijani. At the same time, it would also seem like a new era of peace was just around the corner. The "Jerusalem and Gaza Agreement" made finally provided closure onto that question and folk began moving on with their lives there. Gaza would have their autonomy in Israel while Jerusalem would be shared over with the world as an international city. Israel's population was divided on the subject matter, but they wouldn't have to worry as much about hostile neighbors, barring Syria. South Africa was making some massive and positive strives with more to be expected in the future. The two Germanies would finally reunite after weeks of hard work and discussion, further signifying it was the end of the Cold War. The question just remained what would happen with the Soviet Union. Would it collapse into conflict, dissolve peacefully or would Gorbachev find a way to reform the nation politically? This question would also weigh on China's mind as well, especially since both nations have reportedly been struggling with hardliners regarding their reforms and that this tension may achieve a boiling point. This combined with the question on Korean reunification have become prominent discussion points over for China. The Middle East would also gain concern as speculation noted the rise of Baathist activity in the region with some economists noting potential economic shocks regarding the oil trade.

Within the United States itself, many changes were oncoming with the start of the new decade. The 1990 census reflected the changing demographic, including an increase in new Americans from the Middle East, likely because of the immigration from the troubles there, which some speculate may increase in the future. The Republicans have begun making some modest gains in Congress this year from a combination of new more moderate candidates and some of the old guard retiring, but the Democrats maintain their stronghold. One a more prominent note, new gains have surprisingly been made by a new party: the United Citizens' Party. Touting themselves as a new centrist party, the UCP and the Unizens provided a third option for those who did not fit within the current Democrat paradigm, but also did not trust or fit well with the Republicans. A few of the Unizen representatives made their way into Congress as well as local ballots and many were wondering if a Unizen presidential candidate would be seen in the future. The Askew Administration meanwhile has taken a more active presence in foreign affairs as a result of much of the new international activity going on in the world. Of course, this did not mean they neglected issues at home. Education was becoming a bigger focus with a new generation being born and beyond more funds being put in as a result of the new land value tax and increased revenue, there was also in distribution of funds, focusing on inner city schools as well as revisiting the issue on bussing over to help kids. There was also on the structure of curriculums, well-being of the students and pay of the teachers, the latter having gotten a boost thanks to the efforts of the Askew administration and teachers' unions. Infrastructure development continued as the new trends were becoming standard practice while also looking into routes for it and beginning of many public transportation networks opening up across various states, some pushing further to lure young adults to settle in and start families in the area.

1990 meanwhile also heralded a shift in pop culture. Pop music, the genre that dominated over in the 1990s, would take a crippling hit with the scandal that Milli Vanilli lip-synched their music, revealing them to be phonies in the eyes of many young people. This along with similar scandals, such as how Black Box and C&C Music Factory had hired models to lip sync Martha Wash's vocals on their tracks without crediting her led to the end of the pop music boom of the 1980s. This would break open the gates and would make it a free-for-all for what genre was to dominate the tests of the young. Hip-hop & rap began rising over into prominence while a second wave of punk and related genres like the 2nd riot grrl wave would also rise up and grunge would enter the fold. Environmentalism, the end of the Cold War, the further conflicts of third wave feminism and other issues became prime fodder for singers. Hip-hop and rap would get a special boost in particular thanks to 1990's Do The Right Thing, having won the 1990 Acadmey Best Picture Award and Drama after a large number of support from within the film community. A film or joint as Lee preferred calling it showing racial tensions and how a blazing day brought all of it into an explosion of violence and anger. Spike Lee noted a surprising difficulty in making the film came because of how much changed in the 1980s, such as the end of the hardline approach to drugs, the increased focus on peaceful resolution and a willingness and effort to tackle the deep racial discrepency and issues plaguing the African-American community. Nonetheless, he felt it was still needed. The film became associated with the song "Fight the Power" by Private Enemy* (the name coming from the frustration at large private businesses that the band felt was suffocating people, especially with the Big Tobacco and Exxon cases), with the song itself referring to the dangers of abuse of power. It also gained an element of anti-gentrification (an element alluded to the in the film as a later addition). Despite the controversy and the violence, it helped propel Spike Lee into mainstream awareness and would be planning his next film after a bit of time off, reportedly a film on the life of Malcolm X.

Other films that did plenty well were Total Recall, Back to the Future III and Home Alone, while animation would provide with Rescuerers Down Under and even a new Ghibli film with Kiki's Delivery Service. However, many did note that it was a tough time for Hollywood due to the scandals and lawsuits regarding various high profile name regarding abuse, sexual harassment and systemic problems there. This would have rammification as people began to wonder if places outside of Hollywood could become prominent film locations, with some seeing opportunity there for future business. In other news, Metro-Fox Media would rename itself over in 1990s, now calling itself MetroCentury Media. This rebranding comes over with the release of their new channel, MCB, short for MetroCentury Broadcasting, which would air the first regular Simpsons episode with "Bart the Genius" along with forming their own bloc for children known as MetroKids. Additionally, one major television show of prominence would be Twin Peaks due to its strange and surreal charm capturing the imaginations of people. Comics books would see a large change as Marvel would finish up releasing the first of their line since their reboot a couple years prior, them finally catching up with what DC had done in terms of a new Marvel universe over for the Brass Age of Comic Books. Meanwhile, video games would see a large shift as in Japan, the "Super Famicon" would come out and begin heralding the rise of the next generation of video game consoles, especially with the growing age of the audience.

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*= Yup, Public Enemy is called Private Enemy ITTL

 

[CountDVB]

1990- The Brass Age of Comics: Marvel Comics After-War​

Prologue: The Eternity War
The changes brought about by society meant that pop culture would reflect in turn. The Udall Administration's reforms and the societal changes following suit would usher in the beginning of the Brass Age of Comics. It was a refined and polished version of what the Bronze Age brought about, but also served as a second Golden Age (with some joking Brass' similar appearance to gold being what inspired the name.) DC Comics have laid the foundation for it and Marvel realized they need to follow suit, especially when Jim Shooter would make his return with Voyager Communications and Paramount Communications having purchased Marvel. The changes of society became more and more prominent, with one example was how Spidey having to work for Aunt May's hospital bills was now outdated as a concept. This pushed to the fact that a reset button would be needed for this.

So they began doing their own version of Crisis of Infinite Earths. Deciding to go out with a bang, they would have Jim Starlin come up with what would be one of his greastest stories yet, Eternity War. It would see the main antagonist being Thanos in trying to court Death by the use of the six Soul Gems, explaining that they were called such because they were the essence of Eternity, the embodiment of the universe, his soul. And he was now after the Eternity Gems as they would be called.

Soul. Mind. Power. Time. Reality. Space.

The Eternity War became one of the biggest events ever as many heroes were tied to try and stop. Moments like Cap's shield being broken and Thanos killing Asgard via Ragnarok were pivotal moments. One major gamechanger was Spider-Man really becoming a champion through becoming Captain Unvierse and fighting Thanos to a stand still while Adam Warlock continued on with his master plan which would see him gain the gauntlet. But with Thanos having damaged the universe, it needed more energy. Spider-Man prepared to offer his life energy as Captain Universe but would be stopped and saved by Adam Warlock, who would go on for a new Big Bang. Interestingly enough, it was also alluded that the multiverse would play a bigger part over time when Adam Warlock says throughout possibility that he would return.

Eternity War laid the foundation for AfterWar, the term used for the new Marvel status quo, which would see everyone starting out once more, with cleaned up stories and some ideas worked from the ground up. This did cause a mild controversy over regarding the status of Captain Mar-Vell since appaently Starlin ended up in conflicts over that and the usage of "Captain Marvel" with fans not wanting his death to be cheapened. A compromise would be confirmed that the story would remain canonical though likely be remastered to fit the times and tweak some details though this would still play an influence on things moving forward.

Regardless, by 1990, most of the first issues of first new line of comics were coming out, setting the path for Marvel AfterWar, with the status on the following:

Spider-Man: One of the biggest focused on, it would focus back on Peter in his teenage years though also a bit more polished there. Emphasis is placed on Peter struggling as a young man of the working class along with going into college after high school. The radiation of the spider-bite would be clarified to be the Vita-Rays used for Captain America. Careful work is done to maintain the youth and prevelance over what Peter successful and navigating through the changes in his life. Some depth was also made clearer from the getgo such as the relationship with his deceased parents and Uncle Ben and Aunt May now looking younger to find it believable on Ben being the older brother of his father. The story contained various coming-of-age elements, including on dealing with growing up and the world.

Fantastic 4: Marvel's premier superhero family, their focus largely remains the same with them exploring the cosmos and resolving problems there though the origins have been modified to fit the new modern times. Susan especially has been changed to better the modern sensasibilities on women. The F4 would also focus on explaining the various secret aspects of the Marvel universe and deal with strange lifeforms. However, the characters remain the same for the most part with Reed the hyperintelligence and caring if a bit aloof and awkward leader, the confident and assertive Susan, thehotheaded and cocky Johnny and the lovable and reliable Ben Grimm. It has also been focusing a bit more on Reed's struggles with his inventions along with some stuff being attributed to him (such as the better space tech).

Ms. Marvel: One of the bigger surprises was on the ascendence of Ms. Marvel in importance. Many believe this was done over to take the place of Mar-Vell regarding being a cosmic protector of Earth. The idea was on making Carol Denvers their version of Wonder Woman though focusing on a cosmic angle rather than a mythological one. The team noted just how much they screwed up with her in the past and they wanted to make it up by giving Carol her fair due and expand on her along with her protecting Earth from the Kree and Skrull, along with ehr relationship with Mar-Vell (which has been recontextualized as her admiring him like an older brother) along with expanding her rogues' gallery and her supporting cast along with a bit of a costuem redesign. But the focus remained the same; Carol wanting to prove all of the people that doubted her wrong along with her getting her powers and becoming a cosmic protector.

The Mighty Thor: Thor would also see a revival as the focus began going over into the various mythological aspects established and trying to bring the grandiose larger than life personality over after some stagnation. Beyond just showing the stories of Asgardian lore, it was also on exploring the growing humanity of these gods. Another new trend that was established was something they took from the page of Wonder Woman, that being trying to adhere a bit closer to the myths. However, the question of whether Loki would be raised as Thor's brother or adhere closer to the myths of Loki being Odin's blood brother have remained unanswered for the time being thoug some speculate they may go toward the new direction as part to further differentiate matters.

The Incredible Hulk: Much like how Ms. Marvel would be handled alot better because of the new times regarding women with the third wave and so on, Incredible Hulk would also be affected regarding how his condition would be handled. Rather than the Fruedian approach, the Jungian approach would be had with the Hulk becoming Bruce's Shadow and so on, with exploring the tough stuff he has to deal. As for him on the run and his journey, a bit harder to say since I could see him being the monster that fights other monsters and so on there. They may bring back the night time elements and so on as well as the Grey Hulk if Stan Lee says enoug, but he's been associated with green for so long, they might stick with what they have. [Joe Fixit would likely be butterflied away.]

X-Men: X-Men would find itself in a rather odd place. The X-Men wasn't really suitable for allegory anymore, since the various social movements would demand to see more direct representation of their issues such as people of color and SATMIN+ folk. This combined with the more grounded approach in how different people born were these powers would be and the rammifications made it complicated. There was also how... non-integrated the X-Men were compared to the other franchises and the direction of the X-Men. especially with the upcoming departure of Chris Claremont (he would go on to be a founder of Image Comics) remained in doubt, though the characters would still be present.

Others: Many characters would also be planned to be reintroduced over time into this landscape. From Captain America waking up over in after nearly 50 years of being frozen to discovering what this new America looked like to changing Iron Man's backstory and trying to keep him sympathetic and his futurist ideals in a corporate world and dealing with alot of enemies. Antman and Wasp also saw a boost, focusing on the relationship and writing (notably removing the incident of Antman slapping Wasp and thus considered no longer canon). Other discussions including on tackling the issues by street heroes like Heroes for Hire and Daredevil along with outlines for structuring things lik the Avengers and so on.

The Marvel cosmology was also being looked into regarding the Skrulls, Kree and the Shiar along with the others. Plans for characters to be redesign or revamped like Nova or Quasar were being considered to figure out. One upcoming character would be Slapstick, this goofball of a character that was born from the basis of what if a Saturday Morning Cartoon character was a hero, one who didn't fight crime and evil, but played cruel tricks on it instead. On a more serious front, Black Panther were also having some plans for being redesigned and figured out, with one note being Wakanda would be an East African island nation, which some attributed to being inspired by Japan's rise to global prominence and serve as a simple explanation for remaining untouched and out of geopolitical affairs.